Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Easier Than it Should Be
by CrizBN
Summary: "The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world." What if the hero from Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers didn't become a pokémon on arrival? What would become of their partner? Would time end up stopping? Prepare for thrills, spills, and other things that end in "ills"!
1. When Everything Goes Right-

"The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world."

What if the hero from Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers didn't become a pokémon on arrival? What would become of their partner? Prepare for thrills, spills, and other things that end in "ills"!

* * *

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the intellectual properties of others. Pokémon and associated entities are the property of Nintendo, I think. "Call Me Maybe" is a song by Carly Rae Jepson. Any typos are mine- YOU CAN'T HAVE THEM, INTERNET!

* * *

Chapter One: When Everything Goes Right...

* * *

Two figures were running on a dusty road through the eternal night.

As they ran, the taller one raised a hand to her ear and started speaking.

"What's our status, Steven?"

She received the response over her headset. "I think you've lost them."

The blue-eyed girl stopped and said, "Okay, we've lost 'em, Grovyle."

The grass-type pokémon stopped and sighed in relief. He had a similar headset, but it wasn't clear what it was hanging on to. Possibly the leaf that was growing of his head, as they did off his wrists and behind him, giving him a twin-leaf tail.

Back at his base, Steven spun around in his chair. He noticed how the two dots on his computer screen stopped moving."Hey," he said, "You two aren't seriously considering taking a break, are you?"

"Cut us some slack, we've been running for ages." She sighed and flicked a blonde lock of hair out of her eyes. "Why couldn't you have come?"

"Oh, you know me, sis. I can't run for my life. Besides-" Steven readjusted his glasses. "-You're the special one."

"...you just did that thing with your glasses, didn't you?"

"Wha- How did you know, Carol?"

"Do I need to remind you? I'm older than you, so I've had enough time to figure you out."

"You're only older by twelve minutes."

Carol sing-songingly taunted, "I'm older."

Steven snapped back, "I've got the higher IQ."

"I'm better at baseball!"

"I'm better at programming!"

Grovyle yelled, "SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU!"

Neither of them could understand exactly what he said, but the tone was universal.

"Uh... right." Carol looked around. "Steven, which way is the Passage?"

"North. Just go north."

They started walking.

* * *

Just Outside Fielders

The teenage trader yawned. "I think you're going to have to do better than that," he said as he internally smirked. _All part of the act._

The man he was dealing with was shocked. "What? You're turnin' down my offer?"

"Mister, no offense, but I've lost faith in paper money. I want something that's useful, and my jacket's made out of the same material as a hundred dollar bill. So excuse me if I'm a little reluctant to take strips of green cotton."

The hiker was beginning to grow impatient as he stowed away five of the cotton strips. "What do you want then?"

"Well, judging by how you haven't killed me yet, I'd say you've noticed my weapon. If you happen to have any ammunition, we might be able to come to an agreement."

"You're pullin' a tough bargain, kid," said the man.

* * *

Fielders City Limits

Carol and Grovyle walked into a small town. The sign read:

"Fielders - Pop. 14,189," but not exactly. The "14,189" was crossed out, and written below it was "Abandoned."

Walking through town, they walked down the abandoned main street. Signs advertized free sandwiches and half-price soup, and if you read them closely, you could see a rivalry between two restaurants, which upon even closer investigation, appeared to be run by rival siblings. Eventually, the two explorers made it to a deserted strip mall, devoid of all life.

"Grovyle, this place is creepy." Carol then addressed her brother: "Are we close, Steven?"

He closed the game of Solitaire he had been playing and checked on his dots. "Actually, you're there."

Carol turned to her trusted partner. "We're here, Grovyle. Where is she?"

Steven exclaimed, "Celebi's not there!? What if she's been captured?"

A sparkling voice joined in. "I heard that, honey. I'm hurt. Me? Captured?"

A pokémon popped into existence in front of them. She wasn't very large, but she had an air about her leafy body that commanded attention. Maybe it had to do with her pink pigmentation.

She floated down to Grovyle, with leaves coming off him in every direction.

"Hello, sweetie," she greeted.

"Hello, Celebi," said Grovyle in return.

"What brings you here?"

"We need to use the Passage."

Celebi sighed. "Of course. I've kept it waiting for you and your friends."

"Friend," corrected Grovyle.

"Oh?" she asked, "I thought for sure there was another."

Carol piped up, "Oh, Celebi, I dumped him, in case you're wondering."

"That's terrible," Celebi said telepathically.

"I know," said Carol, "Can we hurry, I don't want Dusknoir to-"

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

"Oh, no!"

Steven spoke over the headsets. "What's 'Oh, no?' What's going on?!"

"It's Dusknoir!" yelled Carol.

Dusknoir laughed darkly. "I see you've made it quite a way, Grovyle."

Grovyle demanded, "Shut up, Dusknoir."

Meanwhile, Steven and Carol were discussing what to do. 'What do we do!?"

"Get to the Passage, hurry!"

Dusknoir yelled, "Don't even think about making a quick getaway, you're surrounded!" As if by magic, a half dozen Sableye popped out of the darkness.

"That's not an option, Steven," said Carol in fright.

"Maybe I could call back-up," offered Steven.

"We don't have back-up, Steven," yelled Carol, "It's just us!"

"...what about Chr-"

"No way! I dumped him for a reason!"

"I don't think you have a choice, Carol," said Steven.

"Ugh. Fine," Carol pouted, "call him."

* * *

"So, three shells is the best you can do?"

The hiker said quickly, "Kid, do I look like a fuckin' armory to you?"

"No, but I think you can do better."

Suddenly, the phone at the kid's side vibrated. He answered immediately.

"Hello?"

The hiker was indignant. "Hey! Don't walk out on me!"

The boy held up a finger to the hiker. He spoke into the phone, "I'm in the middle of a deal, mate, this had better be important."

His eyes widened. "Serious?" He paused, and then cringed. "Give me just a second." He turned to the hiker. "You've got a deal."

"What?!" He nearly dropped the ammo.

"Here's your goods." The boy handed him a package and took the shells. "See ya!" He started running.

He put a headset in his ear and stuffed the shotgun shells in his pocket. "I'm back."

"About time!" yelled Steven, "Carol's getting destroyed out there!"

"Where is she?"

"Quarter of a mile south of you at a strip mall. Hurry!"

* * *

Carol, Grovyle, and Celebi had managed to hide from Dusknoir and the Sableye.

They were taking cover behind an abandoned car. Dusknoir and the Sableye were getting closer to their hiding spot.

"Steven, where's Chris!?"

"He's almost there, just hold out a bit longer!"

"Dusknoir's going to find us!"

The distinct _"Crack!" _of a wooden baseball bat could be heard, and a baseball suddenly smashed into a Sableye's head.

"Oof!" He stumbled around dazed for a moment, then fell on the ground, unconscious.

The others paused and looked around for the source.

The two farthest away from the group vanished into the shadows with a _Thwack-Thwack!_

"Who's there?" called Dusknoir.

A brown-eyed teenager walked out of the shadows with his hands behind his back.

He was smiling like an idiot.

Carol sighed. "God, what an _idiot!"_

Celebi mentally hissed, "This is your back-up?!"

"We're doomed," said Grovyle.

"Stop right there!" commanded Dusknoir.

Chris stopped. "Hello again, Dusky. I still can't understand a damn thing you say."

Steven yelled, "What are you doing?!"

Dusknoir readied a Shadow Ball.

"Before you kill me," said Chris, "I'd like to do one last thing."

He brought his hands in front of him. He was holding a bottle of spirits in one hand.

"Have you ever heard of a Molotov Cocktail?"

He lit the Zippo he held in his other.

"Here, catch!" Chris lit the bottle's wick and threw it at Dusknoir.

Dusknoir didn't catch it, and paid the price with third degree burns.

Well, that is, he would have, if he wasn't a ghost.

His allies, however, weren't so lucky. They scattered, some on fire, leaving Dusknoir alone.

"Damnit!"

Carol, Grovyle, and Celebi popped up from behind the car.

Grovyle shot Bullet Seeds at him over and over, and eventually, Dusknoir was forced to make like the Sableye and run.

Carol said, "What were you thinking?!

Chris shrugged. "The inner workings of my mind are an enigma."

Carol was unable to stop herself from imagining Chris at a roulette wheel of idiocy, spinning it and dropping a tiny ball of brainpower to see which stupid move he would try next.

Chris imagined a carton of spilt milk, and couldn't help but laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" demanded Carol.

"Nothing, nothing."

"Celebi, can you open the Passage, now?" asked Grovyle.

"Of course, sweetie," said Celebi as she did just that.

A hole in the fabric of space-time was ripped open by the small pokémon, and the three got ready to enter.

"So, if we pass through here, where do we end up?" asked Chris.

"I think we'll end up before time stopped, in the pokémon world," said Carol.

Celebi nodded. "You're right. Now go. I can't hold it open much longer."

"Thank you, dear Celebi," said Grovyle.

"It ain't a problem, Grovyle. Now hurry."

The green grass pokémon jumped through, followed by his two human companions.

Celebi quickly closed the portal shut and teleported away.

* * *

The ride went smoothly, albeit with a shocking amount of traffic.

"Hey! That blue box almost hit us!" yelled Carol.

"What the hell is a police box doing here?!" asked Chris.

Grovyle merely shook his head and blamed the berries.

* * *

_**Author's Note: We-hell! Ladies, gentlemen, and variations thereupon, welcome on board my latest fanfic. Fire exit's in the back, and should we need to use it, you first!**_

_**As I promised, here's a little what-if fic. I added some new characters, but I can't damn well abandon the old ones, can I?**_

_**Anyhow, I've decided to put something out just to tide you guys, gals, and gender-neutral people over for a few more days.**_

_**So, name as many references as you can in your review, and perhaps PM me about getting some of your OCs in. I want an all-star cast! Which reminds me:**_

**Hey, I just met you,**

**and this is crazy,**

**but I wrote this fic,**

**so review maybe?**

_**Alright, I need to go.**_

_**This is CrizBN, signing off.**_


	2. -it Hits the Fan

Chapter Two: ..._it_ Hits the Fan

* * *

To many, the ocean is the great life-giver.

To others, it's seen as something beautiful. It reflects sunsets and bubbles on days when there's not much else to turn to.

For the three individuals dropped into it that night, however, it wasn't seen as either of these things.

You'd think the same way if you were dropped into it during a hurricane.

* * *

In the middle of the night, a Vulpix was watching the sea churn from her home in a cliff.

Thunder had woken her up, and one thing she was really afraid of was thunder.

She could almost swear it was aiming for her.

* * *

One pokémon could feel the storm from miles away, and he ran to make sure he didn't miss it.

Sure, Amp Plains got a whole lot of lightning, but this young Shinx could feel it in his bones:

There was going to be one hell of a storm.

He remembered hearing stories of how young electric pokémon would get more powerful after getting struck by lightning, and how it proved they were brave.

Did he believe them? Yes he did.

Running up to the edge of a suitable cliff, he stood as tall as he could into the roaring wind and pouring rain.

Then, he waited, clutching a good luck charm. Its designs and its rarity had to mean something, but right now, the only thing going through Peak's mind was if it would hurt.

"Come on, you stupid storm, give me something!" he cried out, if only to egg _himself _on.

Suddenly, he felt the urge to loose a spark, and as he did, it struck.

_CRACK!_

The boom of thunder struck him along with the bolt, and he could feel the energy bursting through his veins. Suddenly, he realized that it might be too much, and as he started to feel himself burn, he loosed off the largest thunderbolt he had ever seen.

"YAH!" It rose up into the air, then came crashing down on a bush. It was obliterated.

_Surely, that was a strike to rival the power of Zapdos,_ he thought to himself.

He turned right and admired his handiwork, but then he realized that beneath the bush he obliterated, there was a secret passage.

He walked up to it inquisitively and called down it, "Is anyone in there?"

A voice quavered back, "N-no..."

"I'm coming in, then," he made to walk in.

"Okay! There's someone here; please don't hurt me."

"I knew it! Who are you?"

The Shinx ran down the stairs and came face to face with a Vulpix.

She was at a loss for words.

"Hi! I'm Peak. I was birthed on a peak, so that's why that's my name. What's your name?" asked the Shinx called Peak.

"I-I uh-"

"What's wrong?"

"Your tail's on fire," said the Vulpix.

"Huh?" Peak turned around, and indeed, it was. "WAAH! Put it out! Put it out!"

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew rain onto them both, putting out the fire.

"Ahh, that's better."

"You're in my house..." said she.

"Oh, sorry. Can I stay the night?"

"Uh, oh, I-"

"Can I?"

She sighed. "Fine. My name's Val. Make yourself a bed."

"Yes! Thanks!"

Val sighed. She looked out to sea again.

Suddenly, something caught her eye.

"Peak! Look!"

"What?" He turned around. Then he saw it. "What is _that?"_

"I don't know."

They were looking at a Dimensional Hole.

Suddenly, three objects fell from it, and it was gone.

The two pokémon were confused, and their questions would not receive answers for quite a while.

* * *

Our intrepid trio was falling towards the churning sea.

"Whoa!" screamed Carol.

"Ahh!" yelled Grovyle.

"Whee!" exclaimed Chris.

They hit with a splash.

Grovyle was the first to splutter up, followed by Carol. They reached out for each other.

"Carol!"

"Grovyle!"

Chris spluttered up a yard away. "Whoa!"

They all struggled to stay afloat, and with each white cap, they would be pushed under. Every time they went for a breath, the sea would object, and instead they would inhale salt water.

Eventually, after a life-and-death struggle, they were swept ashore, more the latter than the former.

"Crap," panted Carol, "I hate the ocean."

Grovyle moaned in agreement.

Chris merely said, "Let's go again," before he collapsed in the sand.

They all fell unconscious, and they would lie there in the sand until morning.

* * *

"So," said Peak, "Have any plans for the future?"

The image of the Dimensional Hole had all but left he minds of the two pokémon lying there.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Val as she lay in her bed.

"What I'm saying is, I'm thinkin' of starting an exploration team."

"Yeah..."

"So I was wondering, would you like to be my partner?"

Val considered it for a moment. "Okay, I guess."

"Yes..." said Peak as he lay down, "Let's head to Wigglytuff Guild tomorrow!"

_"Wigglytuff Guild?! _I heard that the training there was super-intense!"

"Yeah, but I've gotta be the strongest Shinx ever! So it's not gonna be a problem for me!"

"Hmm..."

They quickly fell asleep, into dreams of exploring and deadly training.

Guess who dreamt which dream.

* * *

When morning came, the first to awake was Chris.

This was especially odd, since he was usually the last to wake in any group.

"Argh," he muttered, "Why's it so hot?"

A cool breeze teased his face, and it took him a moment.

"Must be my clothes," he whispered.

He was wearing clothes best suited for a light-hearted winter day, not a morning on the beach.

He stripped off his scarf, jacket, and all his other "winter" gear.

Eventually, the teen sat on the sand wearing only a black t-shirt and blue jeans.

He rummaged through his bag. "There has to be some sort of footwear in here..."

He pulled out a pair of black running shoes.

"That'll do rather nicely," he said as he laced them up.

He leaned back and enjoyed the sea breeze. Then he looked at his comrades.

Carol was still lying there in her coat and scarf, and Grovyle was sleeping nearby.

"I should wake Carol before she gets too hot." He shook her. "Carol, hey, wake up."

"Ugh, it's, like, a hundred degrees," she moaned.

"Well then, you'd better take off some of your clothes," said Chris.

She was instantly up and slapped him clear across the face. The slap itself could be heard up and down the beach.

The yell could be heard for miles.

"YEOW!"

"That'll teach you to say _that_ to women, you PERVERT!"

Chris rubbed his cheek. "I didn't mean it like that..."

Grovyle was awoken by Chris's scream. Grovyle stared on, and internally laughed at Chris's pain.

Carol took off her coat, revealing a white tank top. Her electric blue eyes pierced into Chris's soul, daring him to speak again.

He didn't.

Grovyle muttered, "Why is it that humans always insist on wearing those silly threads?"

Carol's eyes went wide.

Chris instinctively answered, "Mainly it's for insulation, seeing as we don't have fur, except on warm days, were it's just society forcing its image upon people."

Grovyle was shocked.

"You can understand me!?" yelled Grovyle at Chris.

"I can understand you!" yelled Carol at Grovyle

"Why are you yelling?!" yelled Chris at both of them.

They both stared at him like he was crazy.

He blinked.

Suddenly, he yelled, "Holy shankwursters! I understood you!"

"How did you understand me?" asked Grovyle.

"I don't know..." said Chris.

"I have no clue, either," said Carol.

Chris said, "There's no way this is a bad thing, right?"

"There has to be," insisted Carol.

"Why?" asked Grovyle.

"Because he said there wasn't." Carol gestured at Chris.

"Hey!"

"Shut it!" threatened Carol, holding up her scarf like a lethal weapon.

"Urk."

"Good. What now?" asked Carol.

"We follow the plan: get the Time Gears and take them to Temporal Tower, before it's too late," said Grovyle.

"So," said Chris, "Where are we heading first?"

* * *

"Come on, let's go to the Guild," said Peak. He was getting antsy.

"But it's too early..." moaned Val as she wrapped her tails around her ears.

"But if we go late, how will we get to do anything?"

"I don't wanna do anything."

"Don't you wanna become the very best, like no one ever was?"

She muttered her disagreement. "Mm-mm."

"We could be best friends, in a world we must defend!"

"If I go with you, will you shut up?"

"Yes," said Peak.

Val stood up.

"Let's go..."

They headed to Wigglytuff Guild.

* * *

"Wow," said Val, "That's a lot of stairs..."

"Come on!" Peak led the way up them.

They reached the grate in front of the Guild, which looked just like the Wigglytuff it was named after. The pink building lay on the edge of a cliff, and it was actually built into the cliff. In front of it lay an unsuspecting grate, which probably should have had a sign nearby denoting its purpose, because occasionally, someone didn't know why it was there.

"Wow."

"Let's go in!"

Peak walked around the grate and into the building. Val followed closely.

"Hello? Anyone there? I want to join the Guild," called Peak.

A Diglett popped out of the ground. "INTRUDER!"

"WAH!" Val jumped back in fright, knocking Peak and herself down the ladder into the first subfloor.

They hit the ground with a thud, and they were surrounded by the Guild within seconds.

* * *

_**A/N: Not much to say. New chapter soon, request for reviews, needless filler...**_

_**And I'm done.**_

_**Sweet! Where's the drinks cart?**_

_**...we're still live?**_

_**Crap!**_

_**I mean-**_

_**I'm signing off guys, see you!**_


	3. Explorers One and All

Chapter 3: Explorers One and All

* * *

"So," said Chris, "Do we know where any of the Gears are?"

"Yes," said Grovyle.

"Which one do we go to first?" asked Carol.

"We could split up, see if we could get it all done quicker," suggested Chris.

"I hate to admit it," said Carol, "But our idiot just came up with a good idea."

He pumped his fist in triumph. "Sweet, where are we going to go?"

Grovyle and Carol thought for a moment.

"I'll head to Treeshroud Forest in the northeast," said Grovyle.

"I'll go to the Northern Desert," said Carol.

"What about me?" asked Chris.

Grovyle and Carol seemed a little apprehensive.

"Well, there really were only supposed to be two of us..."

"And, we already have everything planned out..."

"You two aren't trying to do that thing where you justify leaving me out again, are you?" asked Chris.

"Chris, are you sure you won't screw this up?" asked Carol.

"Of course!"

"Not like in New York-"

"and San Francisco-"

"and the Grand Canyon-"

"and Salt Lake City?"

Chris countered, "Come on, those are in the past- err... future. Anyway, I promise I won't screw up!"

Carol said, "I sure hope so."

Grovyle said to Carol, "If he does mess up, it may make our jobs easier. He just might distract everyone."

"That's very nice of you..." said Chris sarcastically.

"You know what? You can head to Fogbound Lake," said Carol.

"Where's that?" asked Chris.

"Which one of us has the maps?" asked Carol.

Grovyle suddenly realized: "I don't have them."

Chris pulled them out of his bag. "You left them with me." He waved them in their faces. "And you say I'm the stupid one."

Carol and Grovyle each pulled a map from him. Chris opened his.

"This is the map that the Professor and Steven put together," observed Carol.

"I got it in triplicate," said Chris.

She pointed out the area on his map.

"Fogbound Lake should be around here, in Foggy Forest."

"That's a three day hike!"

"Good luck," said Carol.

"Crap."

"Let's set off now," said Grovyle.

"Alright. See ya!" called Carol.

"Goodbye," said Grovyle.

"Good luck, you two," said Chris as he tried to plot a route to Foggy Forest.

As they walked away, Grovyle asked Carol, "What about the puzzle?"

"I don't think he'll be able to solve it," said Carol, "It'll keep him busy until we come back for him."

"What if he actually finds the Gear?" asked Grovyle, "Where will he meet us?"

"He won't."

* * *

Peak and Val were standing in front of the Guildmaster in his chamber.

Chatot whispered the situation in Wigglytuff's ear.

"So," said Wigglytuff, "you two are intruders?"

"We want to start an exploration team!" said Peak.

"Oh?" asked Wigglytuff, "Then why didn't you say so?"

"Whaat?" asked Chatot, "You're going to let them off so easy?!"

"We need some more Guild members for an expedition we're planning," said Wigglytuff, "so as long you two agree to come with us, we won't punish you."

"We'll be going on an exploration right away? Sweet!" said Peak, "We agree to your terms!"

"Yes, well, quite," said Chatot, "What will your team name be?"

"Hmm," said Peak.

"Flash Burn," said Val.

"What?" asked Peak.

"We should be called Team Flash Burn," said Val.

"That sounds good," said Peak.

"Okay, you two'll be Team Flash Burn," said Wigglytuff, "Here are your badges."

Wigglytuff threw their new winged explorer badges at them.

They caught them.

"Sweet!" said Peak, "We're an exploration team!"

The rest of the day was spent acquainting themselves with the Guild and its members, and preparing for the exploration.

In the evening, Chatot announced their plans.

"We shall be searching for Fogbound Lake," said Chatot.

A Guild member, Corphish, said, "Hey, hey! Isn't that place a legend?"

"Exactly. The Guild shall be going on an expedition to prove once and for all whether it exists," said Chatot.

He continued, "In the morning, we will split into travelling groups. These are the groups. First, there is Corphish, Sunflora, and Loudred. Then, Croagunk, Chimecho, Diglett, and Dugtrio will be travelling together. Third, we have Val, Peak, and Bidoof. Finally, the Guildmaster and I will be travelling together."

"Aw," said Wigglytuff, "Do I have to travel with you?"

"I can't change these groups, Guildmaster."

"...meanie."

The entire Guild settled to sleep shortly afterwards, because they wanted to be rested for the journey.

* * *

By sunset, Grovyle was running through the trees of Treeshroud Forest, Carol was crossing the Northern Desert, and Chris was lost.

"Ah, crap," he muttered, "Where the hell is Craggy Coast?"

Eventually, he wandered around to its entrance on a cliff's path. He ignored the stone shaped like a pokémon there.

"I found it!" He turned around and yelled off the cliff, "Take that, universe! I actually found..." His voice trailed off as he saw it.

* * *

In Treeshroud Forest, Grovyle climbed a tree to get a better look.

"I can't believe it."

* * *

In the desert, Carol sat down in the sand.

"Oh my God."

* * *

In three different places, the three separate time travelers all said the same thing.

"It's beautiful."

They all watched as the sun dipped below the horizon. As it fell, the entire world was bathed in the last rays of orange and red for the day. The trees of Fogbound Forest seemed to transform from emeralds to rubies. The Northern Desert's sand began to sparkle. Over the ocean, it was reflected into the wavy sea, and as it dipped down below the water of the ocean, a red glow remained for five minutes.

* * *

Grovyle dropped from his tree as tears dropped from his eyes and continued towards his goal.

* * *

Carol decided to start resting; she had seen all she had dreamt of.

* * *

One person waited for more.

"Come on," he whispered, "Come out."

He waited. Eventually, he saw a solitary twinkle of light in the dark blue sky.

"That's it..." he said, "The stars."

All throughout the sky, more and more appeared as the sky became darker until the entire inky sky was ablaze with the light of the cosmos.

This is what he had been waiting for.

"Oh, it's just like it was that night."

A shooting star appeared, and he made his wish.

"I wish that we succeed, damn the consequences. That we manage to actually do it."

He sat down underneath a tree and looked out to the ocean and watched the stars. He stayed up watching it all until at last, his body clock willed his eyes shut two minutes to midnight.

* * *

In the morning, Team Flash Bang met yet another Guild member. Loudred.

"UP AND AT 'EM IT'S MORNING!"

"Wah!" Val nearly jumped out of her fur.

Peak awoke with a start. "What the hell!?"

"GET UP!"

After a tense confrontation, Team Flash Bang was introduced at the Guild during morning assembly.

Then the Guild made preparations, and left, splitting into the groups at Treasure Town's edge.

* * *

After travelling for a while, everyone got bored, and so they started talking.

"How long have you been a Guild member, Bidoof?" asked Peak.

"Golly, not very long," said he, "I was the newest member until you two came along. Golly, I guess that makes me y'all's superior!"

"Wow," said Val, "Are you a good explorer?"

"Well..."

"Oh," said Peak.

"Oh. Anyway, why did y'all decide to start an exploration team?" asked Bidoof.

"I wanna become the best there ever was! I'm gonna explore new places, arrest bad guys, and save damsels in distress!"

"...and yet you barge into one's house..." muttered Val.

"Hey! You left the door open."

"You blew it up, you maniac!"

"Hey! Stop fightin', you two!"

They continued on towards Craggy Coast, which was to be the first stop on their journey.

* * *

In Fogbound Forest, Grovyle couldn't find the Gear.

_Damnit, where is it?_

Eventually, he came across a Roselia.

"Excuse me," he called.

"Hmm?"

"Do you know where this region's Time Gear is?"

"Why would you want to know that?"

He lied, "I fear someone may steal it."

"Funny, another pokémon came by a little while ago saying the exact same thing."

"What?! Who?" asked Grovyle.

"Oh, he was tall, dark, and mysterious. I think he called himself Dusknoir."

Grovyle suddenly became a little worried. "Which way did you send him?"

"Towards the Time Gear, of course."

"And that would be...?"

"That way," she said as she pointed in a direction.

"Thank you," he said as he ran that way.

_Dusknoir's here already!? I need to be careful. And what of Carol and Chris?_

Grovyle ran faster, sped on by worry.

* * *

Carol had reached a part of the desert where there was quicksand everywhere.

_Where is it?_

She looked around, but all she could see was sand.

Eventually, she came to a place in the ground where the sand seemed to flow down like a whirlpool.

She suddenly had a familiar feeling. A very slight dizzy feeling.

_It's close, I can feel it, but where?_

She looked around, and all there was was the sand.

He crouched and ran the sand through her fingers. Suddenly, she saw colors flashing, and nearly lost her balance.

_I don't wanna fall in the sand pit!_

A horizontal white line split her vision in two, then her field of view was consumed in a white flash.

* * *

She saw the desert from miles away, then she seemed to fly forward, down to where she was standing (falling) right then. Her view flew down _into _the whirlpool of quicksand, and showed her a cavern where the sand flowed in. She rushed through a maze of caves, and she would have lost her lunch if she still could have felt her stomach. Eventually, she came to stop at the edge of a lake. In the distance as it hovered over the water, she saw it.

The Time Gear.

Her vision cut out and she was returned to real life.

* * *

She suddenly realized that she was about to fall into the sand pit.

She fell in, and panic overtook her.

"AHHH!"

She thought she was going to die, but then she fell through the sand. That didn't do much to stop her screaming, though.

"AHHH- OOF!"

She landed bum-first.

"Argh..."

She looked around, and remembered her vision.

"I need to go this way," she said.

She walked towards (hopefully) the Time Gear, thanking her lucky stars she hadn't broken any bones.

* * *

The sleepier time-traveler was still sleeping when Team Flash Burn (with Bidoof) came to the entrance of Craggy Coast.

"Is this Craggy Coast?" asked Val.

"According to the Wonder Map, yes it is," said Peak.

Bidoof said, "Yup, yup, we've made it mighty far."

"If we hurry, we might be able to get through Craggy Coast by evening," said Peak.

He was talking loud enough that he woke up Chris.

"Hmm?" he asked as he woke up, "Who's there?"

"Is someone there?" asked Peak.

"Yeah," answered Chris, "_I'm_ here. Who am I talking to?"

"I'm Peak, the leader of Team Flash Burn," said Peak.

"Team? What do you mean by that?"

"You know, exploration team?"

"Oh, right. They don't have those where I'm from."

Peak was shocked. "What? Where are you from?"

"Long way away. I'm Chris by the way."

"Chris? That's an odd name. What kind of pokémon are you?"

Chris suddenly realized something. "Oh, crap, I've just been talking with a pokémon."

"Why's that so odd?" Peak, and his company, was getting confused.

"Because I'm a human."

"What?!" asked Val.

"A human!?" exclaimed Bidoof.

"You're crazy, everyone knows humans are myths," said Peak.

"Funny," said Chris, "That's how we humans used to think of pokémon."

"Come out," said Peak, "I'll tell you what you really are."

"Fine..." Chris walked out so that everyone could see him. "Here I am."

Peak stepped back in shock. He spluttered, "What the hell are you?!"

"I told you: a human. And you're a Shinx? Along with a Vulpix and a Bidoof, right?"

"Th-that's right," he muttered.

"Why are you so afraid?" asked Chris.

Val said, "I heard that humans _eat _pokémon."

Bidoof shivered.

"What?" asked Chris, "I couldn't imagine eating one of you guys. Besides, I've got enough trail mix to last me to the end of time!"

"Really?" asked Val.

"Yeah, about three week's worth," said Chris.

Peak scoffed. "Time's not going to end in three weeks."

Chris said, "It will if I can't complete my mission!"

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"I need to get to Fogbound Lake."

Val said, "Oh! We're going there too!"

"Mind if I tag along? I get lost easily."

"...fine," said Peak, "But don't even think about eatin' us when our backs are turned."

"Okay!" Chris filed in behind the pokémon as they entered Craggy Coast.

* * *

_**A/N: Um... 'kay.**_

_**Well, what do you think?**_

_**Yell at me what I'm doing wrong, and please tell me what not to throw out.**_

_**What's done is done, so please don't ask me to delete things, but DO tell me if you want any OC cameos. Just give me a PM, and I'll talk to you from there on out.**_

_**Anyway, thanks for dealing with my horrible writing up to this point.**_

_**This is CrizBN, signing off.**_


	4. The Three Cs

Chapter 4: Complications, Confrontations, and Confusion

* * *

Grovyle, despite being a little out of practice, was a very good fighter. The only pokémon he'd ever met that could beat him was Dusknoir, but that usually had to do with Big D playing dirty.

Grovyle also tended to shy away from fights with humans, because those usually tended to involve guns, and contrary to what action movies may tell you, it is very difficult to dodge bullets, and you definitely have to.

But right now, the only thing on our grassy hero's mind was what he would do if he found Dusknoir. He didn't know what Dusknoir was doing or where he was, but he was soon to find out.

After running through the trees _a la parkour, _Grovyle was beginning to get complacent, and started looking for the Time Gear. Suddenly, he stopped.

So did Dusknoir.

When two individuals have extreme emotions towards each other, they tend to know when they are close to each other. This is true of both lovers and arch enemies.

Grovyle could see him, and that was very worrying, because after years on the road, he knew all the tricks and rules of the trade of being a fugitive. There was one very basic rule that was easy to find out, but easier to forget:

_If you can see them, then they can see you._

Grovyle made to move, but then Dusknoir turned and looked directly at him.

Grovyle didn't stop to make sure if Dusknoir had seen him; he knew that always made it worse.

Dusknoir didn't give him a head start; the time for games was over.

Grovyle was running through the trees as if he had been doing it all his life, despite never having stepped in a forest for two years.

Dusknoir cared little for the environment and plowed his way through everything that could be demolished.

"Damn it, Grovyle! Stop running!" called Dusknoir.

"Screw you!" yelled Grovyle.

Suddenly, Dusknoir fired a Shadow Ball at the sound of Grovyle's voice.

When Grovyle could hear it whiz past his head, he decided it best to stay quiet.

They continued like this until their adrenaline wore out, and the chase began to wind down.

Grovyle managed to narrowly get away when Dusknoir lost sight of him as he jumped his way through an especially thick birch.

The two pokémon ran off in separate directions. Now the race was on:

Who would find the Time Gear first?

* * *

Meanwhile, beneath the sands of the Northern Desert, Carol had been turned around by tunnel collapses more times than she could take. She was beginning to develop a slight fear of underground spaces.

And just to add insult to injury, she managed to find her way into a monster house.

A crowd of pokémon fell down from the ceiling.

"Ha!" yelled the leader, a Sandslash, before asking, "What the hell are you?"

"A human."

"Ooh," said a Hippowdon behind her, "I've always wanted to beat up a myth."

Carol knew that all she had going for her right now was her wits. She tried to keep them talking.

"What do you mean, 'myth?'"

"Nobody's ever seen a human before," said Hippowdon before being slapped by a Pupitar.

"We're not here to talk! Get her!" he said.

A Mawile interrupted, "Are you sure it's a her?"

Carol stared her down, "Did you just call me a boy?"

"Uh, n-no?" stammered the Mawile.

"No, you didn't," said Carol before realizing something: many of these pokémon were _afraid _of her. She decided to capitalize on that fact.

"I wonder how Sandslash tastes," she said, while thinking that it would probably taste pretty crummy.

Sandslash got worried. "Ack!" At the sight of their leader getting scared, some of the horde got a little worried. A few even considered retreat.

"Maybe I just might be able to end this, and then have some lunch," she said, borrowing one of her ex-boyfriend's crazier, creepier grins.

"Urk." The crowd of pokémon began to thin.

"H-hold your ground!" said Sandslash, "She's just one human!"

Then she said, "And you're just a few pokémon."

They all turned tail and ran.

_Wow, _she thought to herself, _I can't believe that actually worked._

She walked onwards through the sand cave.

* * *

"So," said Chris, "Why are you heading to Fogbound Lake?"

"We want to prove it exists," said Val.

"The entire Guild is heading there, yup, yup!" said Bidoof.

Chris said, "Guild. What do you mean by that? Like, an exploration guild?"

"Yeah," said Peak, "Wigglytuff's Guild!"

"Oh," said Chris, "Never heard of it."

All of the pokémon were in disbelief:

"What?!"

"How can you _not _have heard of it?!" asked Peak, "It's world-famous!"

"I guess I'm just not with the times," said Chris, carefully evading the subject. He remembered being told something by Carol:

_"Don't even think about spilling the secret about what we're doing. You know they're looking for us, and we can't afford to give them any clues."_

Peak shook his head.

Eventually, they came across a crowd of Krabby that quickly circled around them.

"Quick Attack!" yelled Peak as he jumped at one.

Val used Ember.

Bidoof used Tackle.

Chris... was standing around.

"Hey!" yelled Peak at the human, "Help us attack!"

"Hmm?" asked Chris with a start. "Oh, right!"

Chris pulled out his baseball bat. "Come on, Krabby."

He waited for one to come at him, and then he swung.

It flew, hit the wall and scurried away in fear.

The remaining Krabby attacked.

Peak, Val, and Bidoof all managed to dodge.

Chris got one clamped on his pant leg.

"Hey! Get off!"

He swished his bat at it but it refused to let go.

After a vicious cycle of attack, swing, dodge, the Krabby were all either down or out.

"Heh, that was fun," said Chris.

"How was _that _fun?" asked Val, "You had a Krabby clinging to you half the time!"

"Yeah," said Peak, "How come you're not injured?"

Chris gestured to his jeans. "These are denim jeans. The Krabby never even reached my skin."

"Denim?" asked Bidoof.

"It's a kind of fabric," explained Chris.

"Wait, you're wearing fabric? Why?" asked Val.

"Well, I don't have fur, so it helps cover me up, and, as you saw, it does have slight usefulness as armor," said Chris.

"Humans are weird," said Peak.

"Yeah," said Chris, "It's almost a mystery how we took over the damn planet."

"What?!" asked Peak in shock, "You took over the world!?"

"Oh, shit. Well, uh, not really..."

"But, you said you did," said Val.

Chris stuttered, "Um, well, it's a very long story..."

Peak looked him over suspiciously. "What are you holding?"

"A baseball bat. Glendale Sluggers." The words were indeed printed on the wooden club.

"What do you use it for?" asked Val.

"It's clearly a weapon!" said Peak.

"It's used for sport," said Chris.

"What do you do? Beat things senseless?"

"Actually, it's used to hit baseballs."

"That's terrible," said Val.

"Oh, no, it's quite fun actually. Look." Chris pulled out a baseball.

"Is that a baseball?" asked Val.

"What you're supposed to do when playing baseball is try to hit this thing as far as possible, so that you can run around the bases before anyone can tag you with it."

"Bases?" asked Peak.

"I'll tell you later."

The travelling party continued onwards.

* * *

After hours of wandering, it started to rain.

Grovyle quickly jumped down from the trees. He didn't trust his skills to carry him through wet branches. He instead elected to run on the ground.

He eventually came across a path and began to follow it. He started running.

A few minutes later, he reached his goal.

It was floating about a foot above a pedestal, surrounded by a glowing aura. The object itself was only about three inches across. It had six teeth circling around its edge and there was a hole in the center. It really is funny how such small things can be so important.

"That's it," said Grovyle in awe, "The Time Gear."

He ran up to it. He reached out for it.

Finally, he grabbed the blue gear, turned tail, and ran.

In his wake, time seemed to come to a standstill because that's exactly what was happening.

The raindrops stopped in mid-air, and with a very unique sound, time ceased to flow.

* * *

Carol was running, too, but for different reasons from Grovyle.

She was running because the tunnel she was travelling through was caving in.

Her chest felt as if it was on fire, but she kept running until she made it into a chamber that was structurally sound.

When she made it into the chamber, she instantly fell down. She was exhausted from the run, and she was still trying to get her breathing down.

"Fuck-" she gasped, "-I-" gasp, "-am never-" gasp, "-going underground-" gasp, "again."

She didn't notice the lake, and didn't care that her promise to herself was going to be impossible to keep.

Eventually, she sat up and looked around her.

"Where am I?"

She stood up and walked to the lake's edge.

"This lake's pretty cool."

She saw the glow at its center. As she looked closer, she realized:

"That's the Time Gear! I made it!"

Suddenly, everything went dark.

Another voice called out, "W-Who's there?"

Carol yelled, "Who are you?"

The lights came back on, and a small pokémon was hovering at the lake's edge. It had what appeared to be a pink headdress upon its head.

"I-I'm Mesprit, the Guardian of this Time Gear!" she said.

"What?! The Time Gears are guarded?" asked Carol. Suddenly, she realized that their mission wasn't going to be anywhere near as easy as they thought it would be.

"Of course they are," said Mesprit.

"Damn. How are we going to get them all?"

"WHAT?! You won't! I'll stop you if you try to steal it!"

Carol sighed. "I was afraid you'd say that."

Mesprit dived at her, and Carol dodged.

_How am I going to win a pokémon battle without any pokémon?!_

Carol thought quickly and tried to tackle Mesprit on her next fly-by, but that only managed to hurt them both.

Something very odd happened then, you see.

When Carol jumped at Mesprit, she missed completely, but something else didn't.

A shocking amount of electricity jumped between them, dazing (and confusing) Carol, and paralyzing Mesprit.

Mesprit flew into the ground as she twitched. The electricity was really getting to the water pokémon.

Carol was dazed, and at the same time, she and Mesprit asked,

"What the hell just happened?"

Carol walked forward, seeing double

She tripped over Mesprit, shocking them both a second time.

"Wah!" they both instinctually screamed.

The shock cleared Carol's mind somewhat, and also made sure that Mesprit would not be able to get up in time.

Carol started to run uneasily, but then, she jumped into the lake, and swam for the Time Gear.

There was a terribly ghastly silence.

There was a terribly ghastly noise.

There was a terribly ghastly silence.

* * *

_**A/N: I've been waiting for a chance to use those lines. Oh, I've been waiting.**_

_**Name its first famous occurrence for brownie points.**_

_**Anyway, tell me what you think of my story in a review, and don't panic.**_

_**I know exactly where my towel is.**_


	5. Talking

Chapter 5: Talking

* * *

Carol half panted as she got out of the Northern Desert.

She couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt at basically single-handedly ending time in an area, but she knew that she had to keep going.

She silently debated where to head next.

_I have three choices: Limestone Cavern, Crystal Cave, and Fogbound Lake._

She came up with her answer quickly.

_Fogbound Lake. I need to get there before that moron screws up too badly._

She started walking as the sun began to set. She didn't feel tired yet; the adrenaline still hadn't worn off.

* * *

Miles away, Grovyle followed exactly the same logic, but he decided to sleep in a tree that night, he was too exhausted to do any more that day.

* * *

Meanwhile, Team Flash Burn, accompanied by Bidoof and Chris, settled down for the night.

Val started a campfire, and everyone gathered around it.

All the pokémon talked as the human sat away from the group, staring at the sunset with a woeful expression on his face. He had his knees pulled up to his chest, and he rested his head on them.

Val said, "He hasn't moved an inch since he started looking at that sunset."

"He probably thinks he's so philosophical doing that. It's not like anyone gets anything from staring at a sunset," said Peak.

In another place, a Xatu sensed a disturbance in the force. He glanced around, and then went back to meditating on his cliff after being satisfied no one was near him.

Bidoof said, "Golly, I wonder if he's okay."

Val said, "I'll go talk to him."

She sat down next to him.

"Hi," said Chris, "Your name is Val, right?"

"Yeah."

"I have a feeling that your friend, Peak, doesn't like me."

"Oh, he's not my friend," said Val.

"Eh?"

"We're just partners, that's all."

Chris leaned back. "A business relationship, then? Let's hope you grow on each other, otherwise it'll never last."

"I never wanted to be on an exploration team," said Val.

"I never wanted to be a drifter."

"A what?"

"A drifter. People like me, we have no home. Our life is the open road. I've had my share of homes, but they never lasted long."

"That's- terrible."

"It's not too bad; you get used to it."

"I don't think I could ever get used to not having a home."

Chris's eyes darkened as the sun set. "It's surprising what you can get used to."

His eyes twinkled as the first star appeared a second later. "And yet, sometimes it's the feeling of something different that truly makes you happy."

Val said, "I'll try to remember that, I guess."

Chris smirked. "What?" he said, a little shocked, "I'm no philosopher, and I'm definitely not wise. To remember my words would be a mistake, but I'm okay with _that _kind of mistake."

"Oh," said Val, "Do you want to come to the fire?"

"No, I'll just watch the stars, tonight." Chris lay down on his back and looked up.

Val walked back to the fire and sat down.

"So?" asked Peak, "What did he have to say?"

"He didn't really say much of anything," said Val.

"Well, it's pretty late," said Bidoof, "Y'all better get to sleep."

The entire traveling party settled down to sleep as the fire died down.

* * *

Carol fell asleep under the night sky a little bit after Team Flash Burn did. She was taking a route that went around the caves and things. She estimated that it would probably take her three days to catch up to Chris.

Fewer if he got lost or if she got lucky.

* * *

Back in the States, Steven was uneasy.

He had gone to stay with the Professor at the Paxico lab after sending his sister and his best friend back in time, but even though he was being kept busy, he couldn't keep his mind from wandering.

He wandered mostly about what was happening on Chris and Carol's side.

Steven sighed and the Professor, who was in Steven's room at the time, asked, "Are you worried about them?"

"Yes I am, Professor," said Steven, "What happens if they screw up? Or more importantly, what happens to _us _if they _don't?"_

"I don't know Steven," said the old man as he stood up. "Perhaps you should work on your invention to take your mind off it."

"But I can't concentrate," said Steven.

As the Professor left the room, he said, "Don't worry, Steven. You'll get it eventually. I'm going to make a video call."

The Professor closed the door behind him.

Steven stood up and cracked open the door. He watched as the Professor started up his computer.

He typed in an address and made the call.

"Hello? Val, are you there? It's Oak."

Steven couldn't see the screen, but he knew someone was there because a female voice answered, "Gary? How did you get my number?"

"Your friends gave it to me."

"I'm going to have to burn their tails off again..."

"Now, now, don't be like that. How else would I be able to talk to you?"

Val sighed. "What do you want?"

"I'd like you to tell me more about when time stopped."

Steven could hear a small scuffle followed by some frantic whispering. Val said, "Oh, I don't think I can tell you."

He could see that the Professor was a little angry. "Why's that?"

A new masculine voice answered, "Spoilers, Professor."

"Randy, what are you talking about?"

"What's the fun in knowing what's going to happen? By the way, I'm going to come visit you and your apprentice."

"What? How do you know about Steven? I don't recall ever telling you about him."

Steven heard some laughter. "Spoilers."

Steven heard the telltale sign of an ended call.

"They hung up on me!" said the Professor in disbelief.

"Who's coming over, Professor?" asked Steven.

"Were you eavesdropping?"

"Well, uh, yeah."

Professor Oak sighed. "An old colleague of mine. I think he will surprise you."

"How?"

"You'll just have to wait and see."

* * *

_**A/N: For those new to the party, yes, I will be reusing the supporting cast from my prior PMD foray.**_

_**Towels, don't panic, and the "...terribly ghastly..." lines all come from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a wholly remarkable book.**_

_**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this short chapter; I'm going to be keeping the A/N's to a minimum, new chapter immediately after this one, and have a nice day.**_


	6. Fisher Kingdom

Chapter 6: Fisher Kingdom

* * *

Carol woke up early in the morning. She gathered her things and set off.

She had been travelling for fifteen minutes before she realized something was off.

She realized it when she heard a twig snap and she _felt _them twitch.

"What the hell was that?" she asked, more worried about the feeling in her ears than the sound.

She reached to where she expected them to be, but instead felt smooth head.

_This isn't normal._

She let her hands explore higher up, and then she felt them.

They were large, round, and fuzzy.

And she could feel and hear her hands touching them.

She instantly pulled her hand away.

_What the fuck!?_

She pulled out a small hand mirror, a gift from her ex. She would've thrown it away to lighten her load, but she felt an inexplicable bond with it.

She flicked open the metal cover and looked at herself.

Her jaw dropped at the sight.

* * *

Meanwhile, Chris was just about to be woken up by the pokémon he tagged along with.

Val nudged him. "Come on, wake up."

"Yeah, yeah, getting up, quit whining." He pushed himself up.

The other pokémon were a little surprised at the sight of him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" asked Chris, oblivious.

"Um," said Bidoof, "I think your ears are different, yup."

"Eh? How so?"

"Have you tried looking at yourself lately?" asked Peak.

"Well excuse me for being unable to see my own head," said Chris, "I think I have a mirror."

He pulled out a little metal mirror, identical to Carol's. For good reason, too.

He made both.

He flicked it open and looked at himself.

"Bloomin' 'eck," said Chris.

* * *

Carol gingerly reached up to touch her new ears.

As she brought her fingers closer, she instinctively flicked her ears away.

It was extremely unnerving to Carol to watch and _feel _her own black ears move.

"What the fuck is happening?"

* * *

"What the bloody hell is going on?"

"Hey," said Val to Chris, "Don't swear."

"I think it's justified, though," defended the human.

His focus was concentrated on the two tall(ish) triangles (covered in blue _fur_) coming out of the top of his head like horns.

If it weren't for the fact that the sides of his head were considerably smoother than normal, then he wouldn't have thought they were his.

"Well," said Chris, "There's only one logical thing to do about this."

He reached into his bag and pulled out a top hat.

He spun it around (trying desperately to look cool) and dropped it.

"Idiot," coughed Peak.

"Shut it, Sparky," said Chris as he plopped the hat on his head, covering his changed ears.

He looked at himself in the mirror and commented, "All I need is a monocle and a haircut and I could pass myself off as a gentleman."

"Where did you get _that?"_ asked Val.

"I traded with members of Reliable Excavation Demolition for it."

"Who?"

"RED. I traded with their demolitions expert. He's Scottish."

* * *

Carol tried to put what she saw out of her mind, but the day was windy, and she could constantly hear the wind whistling through her ears.

_Why is this happening?_

She wished that she had her brother with her.

_He'd know what to do..._

* * *

Team Flash Burn continued onward. Most of them were intrigued, but unworried by Chris's changes.

Everyone save Chris, of course.

He was excited.

_Wow! I wonder who (what, maybe?) has the power to do this? I wonder if I'll meet him, or her, or it. I wonder if they'll want me dead. I wonder what death is like. Do they have TV? I wonder..._

They passed through Mt. Horn without incident and quickly reached the Guild's base camp.

When they saw the Guild, Chris said, "When you said exploration guild, you weren't kidding, were you?"

"There's a lot of us, yup," said Bidoof.

"Yeah, you'd never be able to take us _all _on," said Peak.

"Well..." said Chris, "Maybe all of you minus the big pink guy."

"Why do you say that?" asked Val.

"Just look at how everyone shies away from him. That guy has done something to intimidate everybody, because let's be honest, doesn't he just look like a great, big, pink pillow?"

When Val thought about it, she agreed. Wigglytuff _did_ look like a giant pillow.

As Team Flash Burn and Bidoof approached, Chatot came up to meet them, and then stopped at the sight of the top-hat-wearing human.

"What on earth?"

"Um, hi," said Chris.

Chatot pulled the pokémon away and furiously spoke with them.

"What are you doing bringing others along!? This is a _Guild-only _expedition. What is that thing anyway?"

"I'm a human, not a thing."

"A human!? _SQUAWK!_ Aren't those legends!?"

"Or so I've been told."

Chatot said, "I must tell the Guildmaster!"

He flew over to Wigglytuff and told him about Chris. Then he woke up Wigglytuff and told him a second time. Then he flew back.

"Wigglytuff would like to talk to you," said Chatot.

"Alright," said Chris, "Take me to your leader."

He turned to make a comment to Val. "I've always wanted to say that."

Chris followed Chatot to Wigglytuff.

Despite his slight shock, Wigglytuff kept his bubbly demeanor.

"Hiya!" said Wigglytuff.

"Hello."

"Who are you?"

"I'm Chris, a mostly average human."

"Tell me about yourself, friend."

"Well, my friends call me crazy, stupid, batty or a combination of those. I'm sort of an explorer, but I haven't really discovered any, like, new lands or anything like that."

"Why are you here?"

"Why are _you _here?"

Wigglytuff blinked. "I'm leading an expedition to Fogbound Lake for my guild. Now tell me why _you're_ here."

"I'm also a traveler looking for Fogbound Lake," said Chris.

"Do you want to search with us?"

"No, sorry. I just can't work with you right now."

"Why?"

"That's a secret to everybody."

"What's the secret?"

"The secret is secret."

"The redundant adjective is redundant," said Wigglytuff.

"Touché, Guildmaster. If it's alright with you, I'll be off now."

"Goodbye, friend."

"See ya, Guildmaster," said Chris.

He walked towards Team Flash Burn.

"I'll be off to do my own searching," said Chris, "And, uh, thanks for the escort. I don't have much to pay you with, but I suppose I could give you this."

He pulled out a scarf and handed it to them.

"Wow!" said Val, "Thanks!"

After Chris walked away, Peak said, "I think that was our first successful mission!"

"Really?"

Bidoof said, "Yup! Yup! And an escort mission to boot! Those are always the hardest; it's always like they're tryin' to kill themselves, yup!"

"What do you mean?" asked Val.

"I don't like escort missions," said Bidoof, "The pokémon you escort is always dumb as a brick, yup!"

"Or in this case, the human," said Peak.

"I don't think he was that bad," said Val.

"Come on, he just stood around when we were being attacked!"

Bidoof said, "I've even seen some _brain-dead_ pokémon charge head-on into monster houses! They're really pushin' their luck, yup!"

* * *

Chris was charging head-on through Foggy Forest. Because the leading forces of the universe have a wonderful sense of humor, he ran straight into a monster house.

A horde of pokémon dropped down out of the trees as the clearing's borders seemed to close.

"Ah, crap."

* * *

_**A/N: This is probably going to be a very controversial move. Shoot me.**_

_**PM me if you have a bone to pick, review if you're more okay with this.**_

_**Seriously though, get your critique to me somehow.**_

_**Uh, sorry to be curt, but have a good night, everybody.**_


	7. Daylight Robbery

Chapter 7: Daylight Robbery

* * *

Chris had been surrounded by an angry group of forest pokémon.

"There's no chance that you're friendly, is there?"

"Get him!" yelled an Ambipom, the apparent leader of the horde.

"Guess not."

Chris tried to duck out of the way of an Ursaring's slash, only to be hit by Ambipom's tails. Ursaring did knock out a couple of his allies, though.

"Hey! Watch who you're hitting!" yelled a Bellosom who barely ducked out of the way.

Chris pulled out his baseball bat and swung at Ursaring's head after he recovered from Ambipom's double slap.

Ursaring was so dazed that he went on a blind rampage.

"Oh, shit!" yelled Ambipom as he ducked out of the way.

The bear pokémon mowed down two-thirds of the remaining pokémon before knocking himself out on a tree branch.

Ambipom surveyed the damage and sighed. "I'm surrounded by fuckin' idiots."

Chris was busy battling a Farfetch'd, who was surprisingly adept at beating up larger creatures with a leek. Farfetch'd flew around the human like an agile hummingbird, getting in a hit wherever possible.

Chris was much less graceful, swatting at empty air with his unwieldy bat almost at random.

Meanwhile, Bellosom prepared an attack.

Ambipom caught onto this and quickly got into the trees. He grabbed some leaves and fashioned a rudimentary personal air filter.

Bellosom began to unleash a poisonous gas cloud.

Chris saw it coming and started looking for his scarf.

_Ah, crap, _he thought as he remembered that he gave it to a certain someone. _That's the last time I give out gifts._

He took a deep breath and held it.

Farfetch'd didn't expect it, and fell to the ground in pain. He was incapacitated.

Chris started to run towards Bellosom to try to make her stop.

She stopped regardless, exhausted by her attack. She collapsed and fainted.

Ambipom pounced on Chris from a tree, knocking the wind out of him.

Chris took a breath of the gas cloud.

It was damn near deadly to small woodland pokémon, but for a human, it merely made you feel like shit.

Needless to say, Chris suddenly felt like shit.

He felt weak and in pain, and he knew that if he didn't do something quick, Ambipom was going to beat him.

Ambipom laughed through his mask as he readied his tails. Ambipom grabbed some dirt and blinded Chris with it. He then punched Chris's head.

Chris saw stars through his darkened vision; however, he managed to grab Ambipom's mask and rip it off.

Ambipom suddenly found that he was poisoned, too.

They both started coughing as Chris shoved Ambipom off of his perch and tried to run away.

Chris tripped over his baseball bat, which had rolled away in the fight, and flew headlong into a tree trunk. He barely knew which way was up anymore, and he was blinded.

Ambipom coughed: "I'm gonna kill you." He started to hobble towards Chris.

Chris barely managed to push himself into a sitting position. He was just about to give up, when something shocked him:

He could see a red, vaguely Ambipom-shaped blur walking towards him in a forest of grey shadowy towers. In the distance, he could see a few red blobs.

In confusion, he opened his eyes. He instantly forced them closed in pain. He brought his hands instinctively to cover them, and then he noticed his vision was consumed in cobalt blue.

"Ahaha," said Ambipom, "You're still fuckin' blind."

Chris was confused. He had no idea what he was seeing.

_Shit, what the hell is this? A sixth sense? Eagle Vision? Aura?_

It dawned upon him then. The ears and now this.

_I forgot to turn off the lights the last time I left the lab!_

Wrong conclusion, moron.

_Oh, right. I'm turning into a pokémon!_

He considered himself lucky that the abilities were manifesting now.

Ambipom was upon Chris the moment he figured it out, and Ambipom went for an attack.

It would've knocked Chris out had it not been blocked.

"Nope," said Chris as he grabbed the pokémon's tails.

Ambipom was in shock. _"WHAT!? _How?"

Chris grinned maniacally with his eyes shut. "It doesn't matter; I am going to ruin your day."

Ambipom attacked desperately.

Chris blocked each attack until both of the fighters were exhausted. Chris stood up uneasily while Ambipom panted. Chris picked up his baseball bat and struck Ambipom across the head with it.

An instant K-O.

Chris sighed and fell down.

"Shit. That sucked."

He still couldn't see, but his new sense somewhat compensated for that.

He "looked" around the grey forest, and then he looked up.

"Whoa."

The fog obscured it normally, but most sixth senses could cut through fog.

He saw a gigantic grey tower. At the top was a dull shine.

"I should go there."

Chris stood up and stumbled towards the base of the tower.

Then he walked into a tree.

"Argh, damn it," he muttered.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Guild began searching as one unit.

Along the path, Val found something. She stopped to pick it up.

"What is it?" asked Peak as he walked over to her.

"A gem," said Val, putting the round-cut smoky ruby in her bag.

"Hey, I wanna see it," said Peak.

"Can't you find your own treasure?"

"Fine..."

They walked onwards through the forest.

* * *

The Guild later found a large statue of a pokémon.

Chatot said, "This is a statue of Groudon, the legendary pokémon of the earth. According to legend, he has supreme power over earthquakes and ground-types.

Diglett and Dugtrio nodded. They knew the legends well.

Wigglytuff said, "There's a depression in this statue's chest. Do any of you have any idea why this might be?"

Peak spoke up. "Maybe it has something to do with what Val found!"

Everyone turned to face them. Peak grinned smugly.

Val sighed. "Fine, I'll let you see it." She pulled it out.

Chatot flew over. "May I?"

She handed it to him. Chatot showed it to the Guildmaster.

The Guildmaster said, "This is a very peculiar gem, friends." He put it in Groudon's chest's depression.

It began to glow brightly.

"Guildmaster," said Chatot, "I suggest you step back."

Wigglytuff stepped away from the statue as the rest of the Guild nearly turned tail and ran outright.

The glow became blinding for a second, and then it subsided, leaving the fog nowhere to be seen.

"Omigosh!"

The entire Guild looked around, and then up.

"Hey, hey! That's incredible!"

"Whoa!"

"Yoom-tah..."

* * *

Grovyle was venturing through some marshy areas when the ground suddenly gave way beneath him.

"Shit."

He tried to run forward, but he fell twenty feet down into a pit, with no way up.

"Damn it.

He looked around and saw that he was in a sinkhole.

_If I follow these limestone caverns, I might make it to the surface. Or possibly a Time Gear. There is supposed to be a one in some limestone caves._

He began to wander through the limestone labyrinth.

* * *

Carol was still walking through a forest when she heard someone else behind her.

She whipped around to see something pink dive into a bush.

"Come out!" she commanded, "I saw you!"

_And heard you, too, thanks to these damn ears, _she thought to herself.

"Hey," said the thing inside the bush, "Are you saying those ears aren't yours?"

"What?" asked Carol in shock.

A Mew jumped out of the bush. It hovered a foot or two above the ground.

"You're odd," said Mew, "I've never seen something like you before."

Carol asked, "Did you just-"

"-Read your mind? Yes, yes I did." Mew giggled a little. "You're funny. Let's see who you are..."

"Wha-"

Carol stopped short when she felt another psyche bond with her own and examine her.

It was over in a second, but Carol felt more violated than she had ever been in her entire life.

"I-I'm sorry," said Mew after reviewing Carol's mind, "Your life sucks!"

"Tell me something I don't know," said Carol.

"I can tell you what pokémon you're turning into," said Mew.

"I have a guess already," said Carol.

"Really? I missed that." Mew dived into Carol's mind again.

When they reemerged from the link, Mew said, "Oh, yeah, that's right."

"Stop that!" yelled Carol.

"What?"

"Reading my mind! There's private things in there."

"Oh," said Mew, "I'm sorry..."

Mew seemed sad then suddenly perked up. "I know! I can help you!"

"What?"

"I'll make it up to you for reading your mind! I'll give you a free teleport anywhere you want."

Carol was shocked. "You can do that?"

"Of course! Watch!" Mew disappeared and reappeared an inch from Carol's nose.

"AH!" Carol jumped back in shock.

Mew laughed. "HAHA! Now, where do you want to go?"

Carol straightened up after recovering, and said, "I want to go to Fogbound Lake."

Mew suddenly became a little serious. "I don't think I can do that."

"Why not?"

"I'm not allowed to teleport pokémon, or people, there. Uxie doesn't like visitors."

"Uxie?"

"He's Fogbound's guardian. He protects the Time-" Mew stopped. "I shouldn't have told you that."

"Could you maybe teleport me to its tower's base?" asked Carol.

"How did you know it was a tower?"

"I've visited before."

"Oh, okay. But be careful: Uxie has a super-effective defense in place. You might get hurt..."

Mew teleported Carol to Fogbound Lake's plateau. She entered the mystery dungeon inside.

What she didn't know is that before her had entered two groups. One Guild ten minutes beforehand and her ex-boyfriend five minutes before them.

She was a little confused at first by the maze, but then she remembered.

_It's a mystery dungeon- of course!_

She went onwards through the maze, looking for some stairs.

She wasn't very worried about her boyfriend, mainly because she didn't think he had entered the tower yet.

* * *

Some time went on, and she was on the third floor.

Then there was a loud roar.

"GROOOOH!"

She stopped.

* * *

On the ninth floor, the entire Guild stopped.

Val asked worriedly, "What was that?"

"Golly, that was loud," said Bidoof.

Peak seemed a little agitated. "That sounded powerful!"

Diglett shivered a little. "I really hope that isn't what I think it was."

Dugtrio knew what it was, and almost considered getting his son out of there.

* * *

A twenty-foot behemoth stood in front of Chris.

"GROOOOOH!" it roared.

"Yeah, um..." Chris seemed a little intimidated. "You know, how can I possibly know what you want if you don't stop roaring at me?"

"LEAVE THIS PLACE, NOW!" yelled Groudon.

"And just who are you to tell me to leave?"

"I AM GROUDON, THE GUARDIAN OF FOGBOUND LAKE!"

Chris closed his eyes for a moment. "Bullcrap."

"WHAT?!"

"I've just started figuring this out, but I can't see you glow when I close my eyes," said Chris, "Every other living thing I've come across glowed when I saw them that way; therefore, you are not really Groudon."

"...NO MATTER. YOU WILL STILL DIE."

"Well, shit." Chris pulled out his baseball bat. "I knew I should've asked Scout for some more of that Atomic Punch."

Groudon led in with Hidden Power. Rocks came up out of the ground and flew at Chris.

Chris got cut in multiple places, but tried to tough it out and charged.

"YEAH!" He hit his bat against Groudon to little effect.

Groudon picked him up and threw him.

"OH FU-" he hit the wall before he could finish his swear. He slid down and crushed his hat.

"LEAVE OR DIE!"

Chris looked at Groudon from the wall as the legendary walked towards him. "Since when did you walk on the ceiling?"

Groudon then picked up Chris by his feet and dangled him.

"Oh," said Chris, _"I'm _upside-dEEYYAAAAAHHH!"

Groudon had literally thrown him out of the antechamber.

When Chris banged against the wall, there was a loud snap and a part of the wall fell on him. When it landed on him, he became dizzy.

Not that he noticed that or the colors among the rest. He was already very dazed.

_Oh, fuck. I've really buggered this up haven't I?_

However, when a white line drove itself horizontally through his vision, he suddenly realized:

_I'm experiencing a Scream!_

His vision went black.

* * *

He watched as Wigglytuff Guild worked together to defeat Groudon.

When he finally fell to the combined force of all of them, he started glowing.

"Wh-what's going on?" asked Val.

"Golly, he's glowin'!" exclaimed Bidoof.

When Groudon vanished in a flash of light, Wigglytuff ran forward, out of the cave and out onto the lakefront.

Both he and Chris were stunned.

_So this is what it looked like before..._

Wigglytuff looked around as the rest of the Guild came in. A small pokémon was sneaking up on the sidelines.

"Oh, only a Time Gear, we can't take that!" said Wigglytuff.

"Wait," said the small pokémon, who suddenly popped into view, "You're _not _here to steal the Time Gear?"

* * *

Chris returned to reality in an instant. After he recollected his thoughts and recovered from the shock of returning to the physical world with all its worldly senses, such as pain, he tried to come up with a plan. He came up with one:

"I'll let the Guild take care of that monster then," said Chris to himself.

_I need to find somewhere to hide so that they don't ask me what's ahead._

He stood up and tried to run. He suddenly grasped his right thigh in pain. Well, more pain than before.

"Ah, fuck. That's not going to help."

He had a broken leg. It wasn't a full fracture, but the bone wasn't exactly intact either.

He limped over to a spot behind a rock.

"This'll have to do..."

He made himself comfortable, and then drifted asleep.

* * *

Grovyle ventured deeper into the Limestone Cavern as Carol ascended the stone tower of Fogbound Lake.

In Limestone Cavern, Grovyle suddenly realized something:

"There is a Time Gear in Limestone Cavern!"

He remembered finding its location in the future like it had happened yesterday.

That's a story for later, though, because Grovyle had realized this when he had set his eyes upon it.

He was about to grab it when he was bodily tackled by its guardian.

"OOF!"

The two pokémon rolled to the floor.

They quickly stood up and looked at each other.

Grovyle saw a Wartortle

"Why have you come here?!" asked Wartortle.

Grovyle answered, "To retrieve the Time Gear."

"I cannot let you do that."

"And how do you think a water-type like you is going to be able to stop me?"

"By changing my type," answered "Wartortle" with a smirk.

He suddenly glowed and lost his size and shape. He briefly showed his true form as a pink blob before glowing again. He grew. A lot.

"Oh, damn it. You're a Ditto."

When Ditto stopped growing, he towered over Grovyle. When he stopped glowing, he stretched out his wings and lit his tail fire.

"Guess who's got a type disadvantage now," bragged Ditto, now a Charizard.

"Damn..."

* * *

In the Fogbound Tower, the Guild walked right past the slumbering human when they finally made it to the top floor.

They all walked into the antechamber preceding the lake.

"Now what?" asked Peak.

Groudon materialized at the end of the room and roared:

"GROOOOH!"

Wigglytuff yelled back, "YOOM-TAH!"

"GROOOOOH!"

"RRRAAARGH!" yelled Wigglytuff.

"GROOOH!"

"SHUT UP!" yelled Loudred.

Most of the Guild rubbed their ears.

"Arceus, if you were any louder, Loudred, I think I'd go deaf," said Chatot.

"Omigosh," said Sunflora, "that was horrible."

In the next room, Chris had been woken up by the shouting contest. He hid behind the entrance and snuck a peek in.

He saw the entire Guild facing off against Groudon or the pokémon that was all mouth.

"What did he do to piss all of you off?"

Loudred then yelled again. "I'M NOT THE ENEMY! HE IS!"

"Damn, that explains it. What a mouth!"

Val turned around and caught a glimpse of Chris.

She looked at him inquisitively.

Chris put a finger to his mouth. (Shh...)

Val nodded.

"If I'm not careful, then _mine_ will get _me_ in trouble," commented Chris as he settled in to watch the fight. Suddenly, he felt something coming up from behind him.

He turned around as Carol walked into the chamber.

"Chris?!" she shrieked.

Chris was equally shocked, but put a finger up to his mouth. "SHH! They don't know I'm here yet!"

Carol ran up to Chris and asked, "Who? Uxie?"

"Uxie the lake guardian?" asked Chris. "Is he our conjurer?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Take a look, but don't get spotted." Chris gestured to the antechamber entrance.

Carol peeked into the room.

When she saw a group of pokémon all attacking Groudon, only one thing came to mind.

_What's going on in there?_

"Groudon's a fake," said Chris.

"How do you know?" asked Carol as she got back behind the cover.

"Two reasons. First, I saw it in one of the Screams. Sec-"

Carol suddenly grabbed Chris by his T-shirt. "You had a Scream. How?!"

"L-like always, I touched something and it just happened," said Chris with a little fear in his voice.

"But it only happens when you touch a Time Gear!"

"I know that! But it happened!"

Carol let go of Chris. "What's the other reason?"

"He didn't have an aura."

Carol looked at Chris strangely. "You can't use aura."

"And you don't have big round ears on top of your head," said Chris when he suddenly realized the fact.

"You only just noticed?" asked Carol.

"No," lied Chris, "I was just waiting for an opportunity to show you mine."

He removed his hat and wiggled his blue triangular ears.

"Holy shit. You're turning into a pokémon, too."

"Yeah." He suddenly grinned madly. "Isn't this awesome?"

"No! Not awesome," said Carol urgently. "This is not good!"

"Of course it's good; we'll be able to blend in better," insisted Chris, "Besides, if you're worried about our friends or your family not being able to recognize us, I think we both know this was a one-way trip."

"I know that," said Carol, "But I'm worried that this might be dangerous."

"What could possibly go wrong with this?" asked Chris.

Carol paused for a second, and then said, "That just may be the stupidest thing you ever said next to that one time in the third grade math competition."

"Hey! Forty-two is the answer to everything!"

"Six times nine is fifty-four!"

"You've clearly never read the most wholly remarkable book in the galaxy."

"Reading it is not an excuse for stupidity."

"Hang on," said Chris.

"What?"

"Do you hear fighting?" whispered Chris.

"No..." Carol quickly realized that it was quiet. "Shit!"

The two humans peeked into the antechamber and saw an empty room.

"Come on, let's hurry," said Chris.

"I'll lead," said Carol.

"Right," said Chris as he ran out of their cover. Suddenly, he fell over. "Gah! Fuck!"

Carol ran up to him. "What did you do?"

"Remember how those pokémon were fighting Groudon?" said Chris breathily.

"Yeah..."

"Guess who tried to fight him first?"

"Oh, you idiot," said Carol as she propped him up under the shoulder. "I'm surprised you haven't gotten yourself killed yet."

As Chris walked on supported by Carol, he said, "Just like old times, eh?"

"Yeah, except this time I'm certain _I'm _the one who wants to kill you, not just our enemies."

"Steven did say you were one hell of a girl."

Carol slapped Chris upside the head. "Shut up and walk."

They went out onto the lakeside.

* * *

Uxie asked Wigglytuff, "Wait. You're _not_ here to steal the Time Gear?"

"No," said Chris, "They aren't."

"Chris?" asked Val.

"Who's that other human?" asked Corphish.

Wigglytuff said, "Your ears..."

Chris said, "This is my ex-girlfriend, Caroline. _We're _the Time Gear thieves."

Every pokémon in the room screamed, _**"WHAT!?"**_

Carol whispered, "Damn it, Chris, I thought I told you not to tell everyone what we were doing. You could've at least grabbed the Gear first!"

"But the opportunity for drama was too good to pass up," insisted Chris.

"For the love of God, Chris, we're on a mission to save time and you're worried about dramatics?"

"What's the point of living if you can't have some fun before you go? Imagine there's no heaven, Carol. You would've had a sucky life and nothing to show for it."

"Can we concentrate on the task at hand?" asked Carol for the millionth time.

"Are you quite done yet?" asked Chatot from across the room.

"Uh," stage-whispered Chris, "we done yet, Carol?"

Carol sighed, "If you were any dumber, I don't think you could breathe."

"You know, it hurts when you insult me."

"I never thought you cared for crap, Chris."

Chris smirked. "Bonus points for alliteration, Carol."

Loudred yelled, "SHUT UP!"

* * *

Grovyle was still dodging Ditto's Flamethrowers when he rhetorically asked, "Couldn't you have transformed into a weaker pokémon?"

Ditto hovered in mid-air as a Charizard. "Hmm, I'll have to think about that," he said patronizingly.

Grovyle shot a Bullet Seed at Ditto, but he missed because Ditto suddenly started falling like a rock and glowing.

Ditto shrunk until he was about Grovyle's size, and then he stopped transforming.

"This better?" he asked with Grovyle's voice and form.

"Damn it," said Grovyle, "You're starting to piss me off..."

"You're the one who asked for a weak pokémon," taunted Grovyle's doppelganger.

"Fuck you," said Grovyle as he lashed out with his Leaf Blade.

Ditto mirrored his movements exactly.

They met in the middle equally matched.

"Die already!" said Grovyle.

"You first."

They broke away and Grovyle breathed heavily.

"Tired already?" asked Ditto. "I haven't broken a sweat."

Grovyle stayed quiet, and then threw a glass Sphere at Ditto's feet.

Ditto suddenly found he couldn't move anymore.

Grovyle went right up to him, and said, "The effects of that Petrify Orb should wear off in fifteen minutes. Good luck, asshole."

Grovyle walked up to the pedestal, and retrieved the Time Gear.

Time ceased to run in Limestone Cavern.

* * *

"Shit!" Chris dodged yet another attack from Sunflora.

Carol crouched and hit Corphish with a Spark.

"Holy shit," said Chris. "You can use attacks?"

"You haven't noticed?" asked Carol as she gestured to Loudred and Chatot electrically paralyzed on the ground.

"Oh..." Sunflora slapped him across the face. He said, slightly dazed, "Shit, that was one hell of a bitch-slap."

Chris countered with a punch. Sunflora was knocked back a foot. "Omigosh, just faint already!"

"Not a chance!" Chris then hit her again, this time inadvertently using Force Palm.

She fell back and fainted.

"Who's left?" asked Chris as he got off of his good knee and limped over to his partner.

Carol answered, "Too many of them."

"I have a flash-bang in my back-left pocket if you wanna use it," he offered.

"If that's a ploy to get me to touch your ass, I'll kill you myself."

"Fine, I'll get it myself." He pulled out the grenade.

Carol took it, and threw it after pulling the pin.

She looked away as everyone else looked.

Then it exploded, temporarily blinding and deafening everyone who looked at it.

Carol ran over to the Gear and grabbed it.

"Chris! Let's move!" she called.

"Yeah," he said as he blindly stumbled towards the velvet signature that he just saw take the dully shining, vaguely Gear-sized object.

"Oh no," said Carol, "You looked at it didn't you?"

"I covered my ears, didn't I?"

Carol supported him. "You're supposed to look away!"

"I didn't expect you to throw it that quickly."

"Just shut up and move."

They were away from the lakeside before Uxie recovered from the blast and realized the Gear was missing.


	8. A Sleepless Night

**EDIT: Yes, I have added some guest stars from a story of a good friend of mine. Why don't you ****go check out SnivyPro18's profile page for more information? I uploaded this story late last night, and I forgot to add in credits. Oops, sorry.**

* * *

Chapter 8: A Sleepless Night

* * *

The two humans had stopped to rest just in a wooded area. Chris sat against a tree while Carol put a splint around his leg.

"Can we set up camp here?"

Carol sighed. "Fine."

Carol went out to gather firewood while Chris got out a sleeping bag and cleared a rudimentary firepit.

"Do you want to take first watch?" asked Chris when Carol returned.

"You should," said Carol. "I'm tired."

* * *

Grovyle was wandering through the trees again. He was heading to Fogbound Lake, not aware that its Time Gear had already been stolen.

Just as the sun started dipping below the horizon, Grovyle overheard a conversation. He risked a look down from above them.

"Austin," a Glaceon said, "have you read the latest newspaper?"

"We're on vacation, Ally. I don't wanna worry about the world for one month. Or is that too much to ask for?" answered a Raichu, presumably Austin.

"I know it's our vacation, but I think you should read this." Grovyle watched as Ally pulled a thin newspaper from her bag.

"Look," said Austin as he took it and crumpled it up, "I think that our vacation would be much more relaxing if the world would just-" He paused as he threw it over his shoulder. "-not matter, for once."

"Fine," said Ally, "But when we get back home, you're not gonna be happy."

"Ally," said Austin, "All I care about right now is you, me, and a long, relaxing ride home."

He waited for their footsteps to fade into the distance before dropping down out of the trees and retrieving the discarded newspaper.

"Let's see," said Grovyle as he read the headlining article.

It read:

"_**TIME GEAR CRISIS**_

_Last night, rumors were confirmed that no less than three Time Gears were stolen over the last two days. The states of any other Time Gears are as of this time unknown. An exploration team has been deployed to ascertain the situation in Treeshroud Forest._

_The missing Time Gears were determined to be from Limestone Cavern, the Northern Desert, and the legendary Fogbound Lake._

_Officer Magnezone and rising-star explorer Dusknoir headed the press conference. They confirmed that the three main suspects were one Grovyle and two humans. They are believed to be working as a team. Witnesses say that they are extremely dangerous and should not be approached by civilians..._"

Grovyle was in shock. Dusknoir was going to turn the entire pokémon world against them! They needed to hurry. He needed to find Chris and Carol quickly.

He decided it best to head for Crystal Cavern. He knew what the fate of Treeshroud Forest was; he just couldn't believe that, for once, the moron had actually managed to do something right.

* * *

"So, how many Time Gears do we have?" asked Chris from his seat next to the campfire.

Carol sat opposite him. "I've got two. I don't know how many Grovyle has got."

"Well," said Chris, "you were about to get your second Gear, so I'd say he got his just an hour before we did."

"What's your reasoning?"

"Gut."

"The last time we trusted your gut, we ended up hand-cuffed to each other for an entire night!"

"See? My gut is always..." Chris trailed off as he realized, "Oh, that was a _bad _thing?"

"I fucking _hate _your gut." The fire's glow highlighted her scowl.

Chris frowned. "..."

* * *

Wigglytuff Guild was heading back to Treasure Town in a group, and they were also escorting Uxie to safety.

Chatot asked Wigglytuff, "Guildmaster, what happened back there?"

"Don't tell the others, my friend," whispered Wigglytuff, "but I'm not sure. All I know is that that could have been prevented if we had just been more vigilant!"

Peak nearly shouted, "I knew we couldn't trust that human!"

Val merely said, "I don't get it. Why would anyone steala Time Gear?"

"I don't know," said Peak, "but if I ever see those two humans again, I'll kill them, you hear?"

"Y-yeah," said Val, "I agree."

Corphish asked Uxie, "Do you know if any other Time Gears were stolen?"

"Yes. At least two other Time Gears were stolen. The Gear that resided under the Northern Desert was stolen from Mesprit."

"Who?"

Uxie sighed. "Another guardian of the Gears."

"Golly! How many of you are there?" asked Bidoof.

"There were three of us, but then Ditto - he guards the Time Gear in Limestone Cavern - joined our ranks. I've heard that he lost his Gear as well. There are four guardians in all, but there are five Time Gears. One is left unguarded in the Northern Forest. I do not know the fate of the Gear."

"Where is the fifth Time Gear?" asked Sunflora, who had been counting.

"I will tell you once we get to Treasure Town. I am going to tell Officer Magnezone where it is."

Loudred asked, "HEY! Why don't you tell the Guildmaster?!"

"I like to avoid repeating myself."

* * *

The fire flickered on into the night as Carol slept.

Chris, who knew that he was supposed to be keeping a lookout, couldn't help to look at her as she slept. Her blonde hair had a few new dashes of black through it, and the fire only served to highlight it in her otherwise gold-coloured hair. Chris idly wondered if there was some blue in his own hair.

A cool wind blew through the forest, and he gripped his shotgun a little tighter. Chris thought back to the times he spent on the road with Carol on missions for Professor Oak.

They only had one sleeping bag because they would never sleep at the same time. The roads were dangerous - probably still were - and many of Chris's memories of Caroline involved watching her sleep.

He would've chuckled at the creepiness of it, but he feared that he would ruin her night. In their world, the only solace that either could get was during the night; when soft dreams would comfort you like a parent who was never there, it was almost possible to forget what a hellish place you lived in. Not to mention how pissed she would be.

Chris heard a twig snap and almost on instinct reached forward and turned on the flashlight duct-taped underneath the barrel of his gun.

He pointed it at the noise.

Two voices could be heard:

"Shit! Hide!"

"Whadaya- oh, crap!"

He heard the rustling of leaves as the two owners of the voices hid behind in the bushes.

Chris waited.

"Is he gone yet?"

"Go check."

"What? Why me?"

"You asked, idiot. Now go!"

A purple, toxic ball popped out of the bushes.

"Oh crap, he's still there!" it said.

"Screw it. Charge!" called a third voice.

"What?" asked Chris just as he was tackled from behind by a sizable, smelly pokémon.

"Chaw-haw-haw! We got him!"

Chris exclaimed, "What the fuck!?"

"Damn it, boys, hurry up and get his stuff," called Skuntank.

"Yeah, hang on." Koffing and Zubat approached the camp.

"Carol, wake up!"

"Shut up," muttered Caroline. She covered her ears. "You can deal with it, Chris."

"Oh, for fuck's sake! CAROLINE!"

"Damn it, what is it?" asked Carol as she woke up and stared angrily at Chris.

"Help, maybe?" Chris gestured to the oversized skunk on his back.

"Hey," said Koffing as he got out of Chris's backpack, "there's another one!"

"I have to do everything my fucking self," said Caroline as she pulled a knife from her sleeping bag.

She flicked the blade open and let a small Spark into it.

The arcing electricity added a bluish light to the fire's orange glow.

"What the hell?" asked Zubat as he watched Carol stab Skuntank.

"FUUUCK!" yelled Skuntank.

Carol yelled as she slashed the knife at Zubat and Koffing.

They flew out of the way, barely. Chris shoved Skuntank off and grabbed his gun.

_CHK-CHK!_ "Out of the way, Carol!"

She got down on the ground just as Chris fired on a line between Koffing and Zubat. They both got shot and fell to the ground.

"ARGH!" yelled the two poison-types.

Team Skull was moaning on the ground. The two humans were silent for a minute.

"I think we need to move," said Chris.

"Goddamn it, Chris, you had one fucking job," said Carol, "and you screwed it up."

"I'm sorry." He frowned.

"That's all you ever say: 'I'm sorry.' Couldn't you do something right the first time, for once?" Her eyes were like small thunderstorms- cloudy and ten times as angry.

"I'm trying," he said.

"Try harder. Get your stuff together. We're heading to Crystal Cavern."

"Let's hurry. I think I woke up half the forest with the pump shotty."

The two humans expertly packed their things. They had done this many, many times before, and were gone before anyone who heard the sound arrived.

The first responders arrived to find Team Skull bleeding out on the floor of Apple Woods. The poison-types were unconscious.

"What the hell happened?" asked the Glaceon.

The Raichu was troubled. "My guess is as good as yours." He looked at Zubat. "It's almost as if..." He shook his head. "No, that's impossible. Nevermind. We need to help these pokémon before anything else."

"Right," said Ally as she prepared to get the injured pokémon out of there.

Austin worried that maybe he should've read the paper after all.

* * *

Late at night, Wigglytuff Guild returned to its base. Officer Magnezone was waiting along with Mesprit and Ditto.

He hovered over to meet the Guildmaster as Mesprit and Uxie conferred.

"BZZT! Guildmaster Wigglytuff, we need to talk. BZZT!"

"Sure thing. Come in, friend."

* * *

Everyone entered the pink building. Most of the guild members went about settling down for the night.

Wigglytuff entered his chamber along with Magnezone, Mesprit, Uxie, and Ditto.

"So, what did you have to tell me?" asked Wigglytuff.

Magnezone answered, "BZZT! I was going to tell you about the Time Gear situation, but you seem well-informed already. BZZT!"

"Yes, I know lots. However, I'd love to know more about who we're dealing with," said Wigglytuff.

"BZZT! I'm not the one you are looking for, Guildmaster," said Magnezone, "That would be Dusknoir. BZZT!"

"Oh, him. I heard that he's quite the rising star."

"BZZT! Affirmative. He appears to be missing. BZZT!"

Chatot entered the room.

"Guildmaster, we have a visitor!" exclaimed Chatot.

Wigglytuff smiled. "Oh, good. Who is it?"

"It's Dusknoir!"

* * *

The entire Guild had convened in the commons room.

"So, we finally meet, Dusknoir," said Wigglytuff. "It's an honor to have such a famous explorer."

Bidoof whispered, "Golly, it's Dusknoir. I read in the paper that he was an up-and-coming explorer. Goes alone on all his missions. He's real confident, yup."

"Omigosh, I heard he's, like, super-skilled, too. Even though he's only been around for, like, two months, he already has a super-high rank!" said Sunflora.

"He's so cool," said Val admiringly.

Peak said, "I'm gonna become just as powerful as him, just watch!"

Dusknoir announced, "Everyone, I have important information pertaining to the Time Gear thieves."

"WE'RE LISTENING!" yelled Loudred.

Dusknoir flinched imperceptibly. The yell reminded him too much of an explosion. He continued, "I've been tracking down the thieves for quite some time now, and I hope to help you understand them better. One needs to know their adversary, after all."

"Just who are we dealing with, sir?" asked Chatot.

Dusknoir tacked Grovyle's picture on the wall. "This is Grovyle. He is an experienced fighter and deadly quick. He isn't afraid to play dirty. He will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. He is a master thief."

Then he tacked on a picture of Carol. "This human is Caroline. She is very irritable. She is a vicious brawler. She is currently on the run for battery and theft."

Last, he tacked on a picture of Chris. "This is Christopher. He is insane, armed, and highly dangerous. He has stolen advanced weaponry and has no qualms about using it. He is charged with larceny and murder."

Dusknoir turned to address everyone. "Together, these three terrorists are working towards achieving nothing less than the complete annihilation of time itself by stealing the Time Gears, which, as you know, regulate time."

"Why would they do this?" asked Val.

Dusknoir said, "I find it hard to understand their motives, but these three are fugitives fleeing justice. It is our duty to bring them to it!"

Wigglytuff added, "Before they achieve their goal."

"That would be preferable," agreed Dusknoir.

Chatot said, "Where is the next Time Gear?"

"The next, and final, Time Gear," said Dusknoir, "is in Crystal Cavern. I expect that the thieves are already on route."

"I hope Azelf can hold those thieves off," quipped Mesprit.

"I know that the odds are slim," said Uxie, "but Azelf's never given up. I think we can count on him."

Ditto said, "We should hurry to assist him, though."

"Got it," said Wigglytuff. "Everyone, we're going to Crystal Cavern in the morning. But first, get some sleep!"

"YEAH!" was the enthusiastic cheer.

* * *

Caroline held the pistol her ex had lent her tightly in her right hand.

She was mildly shocked when he offered it to her. She hoped that he understood her feelings of him - mostly ones of hate - but didn't like the chances of that being true. It was that characteristic of him that first attracted her to him. It was also the thing to drive them apart.

He was trusting. She always longed for someone to trust, but, in the end, his uncanny ability to put trust in the wrong people proved too much of a liability. Still, she thought he had the intelligence to not give a gun to an angry ex.

_Maybe it's his way of trying to show you affection, _said a small part of her brain.

The realistic part said, _I'd much rather have flowers and chocolates than a gun. Thanks, Moron._

She sighed. Some of her company's insanity must've been rubbing off on her. Why else would she be talking to herself?

Her mind wandered to the time Chris tried to teach her to shoot.

* * *

It was right before the Professor sent them on their first mission. Chris had been training with Gary at an old shooting gallery, and he was eager to share his new-found skills.

The three friends - Carol, Chris, and Steven - met up outside the building while Grovyle stayed with the Professor.

"Right, if we're going to be travelling between universes, you're going to need to learn how to shoot a gun, Carol," said Chris. He was smiling, happy for once that he knew something Carol didn't.

Carol rolled her eyes. Steven was standing next to her and just smiled.

Oblivious, Chris continued. "Always treat a gun as if it is loaded. Even if you know it isn't! You're going to shoot something or _someone_ you don't want to shoot if you don't keep this in mind." He then tried to think of the next rule.

"Well?" prompted Steven after a minute or two.

"Uh... Give me a second." Chris pulled out a small yellow handbook.

Carol quipped, "What's that?_ Gun Training for Dummies_?"

"M-maybe... Shut up!"

Steven chuckled. "I lent it to him," he whispered to Carol.

She started chortling as well.

"Hey!" said Chris, who was no longer smiling, "stop that! That's - uh - distracting!"

"Yeah, sure thing," said Carol between laughs.

"Fine," said Steven.

Chris continued, "Never point a gun at anything unless you intend to kill or destroy it. Keep in mind that guns aren't reliably non-lethal or lethal."

"You read that straight out of the book," said Carol.

"So?"

"You're the last person I'd choose to teach me how to shoot a gun."

Chris frowned. "You know what? Screw safety! I'm going to show you what I can do with a gun."

"This I want to see," said Caroline as she followed Chris into the shooting gallery with Steven close behind.

Chris prepared a man-sized target.

"I can't wait to watch him miss," said Carol a little too loudly.

Steven said, "I wonder if he'll hit anything."

"Maybe the wall."

Chris didn't say a word until he went back to the shooters' area, where the twins were waiting.

"Well?" asked Steven.

Chris pulled out an M1911 and a flashlight.

"Turn off the lights," he commanded.

"What?" asked Carol in shock.

He sighed, walked over, and flicked them off.

He turned on his flashlight and then ran up to his spot. He started firing immediately and without warning, scaring Steven and Carol.

When the slide locked back, he walked over and turned on the lights.

"Come on, then," said Chris as he went to check the target.

Steven followed him closely. Carol was a little farther behind.

They checked the targets.

"Holy crap," said Steven.

There were eight holes in the head in a tight cluster.

"Are there any questions?" asked Chris with a psychotic grin.

* * *

Carol held the old M1911. Steven had attached a small flashlight to it for Chris after that day. Steven liked to do that - "upgrade" Chris's guns. He gave up on lasers and optics, though. Carol chuckled as she remembered his constant frustration at being unable to get the things pointed just right.

"What's the point of it," Chris and Steven would say, "if it doesn't point at what you'll shoot?"

Carol sat down next to her ex. Her loyal moron. She looked at him and observed that his transformation had progressed further. His hair was mostly blue now. His new blue hair was even more evident in the rising sun.

She decided it was about time to wake him up. She kicked him in the side. Hard.

"Ouch!" yelped Chris as he clutched his side in pain.

"Wake up."

Chris got up. All the while, he complained, "That has got to be the most annoying way to wake someone up. I mean - what could be worse?"

* * *

"UP AND AT 'EM, IT'S MORNING!"

Peak tried to shove his paws in his ears. "Argh!"

Val cried out, "My ears!"

"WAKE UP, YOU WHELPS!"


	9. The Last One

Chapter 9: The Last One

* * *

Chris and Carol reached the entrance to Crystal Cave. Chris was more hobbling, really, because one of his legs was broken. He was using an improvised crutch - his shotgun. He had duct-taped the barrel closed so that dirt wouldn't enter it.

Looking inside, one could see that it was full of crystals.

"Well," said Chris, "here it is, right?"

Carol commented, "Yes. Do you remember where we need to go to get the gear?"

"Oh yeah, definitely." Chris blinked. "Where is that, again?"

Carol sighed. "There's a secret passage at the cave's deepest point. At the end of it is a lake. Once we get there, we can get the Time Gear from the lake."

"Oh, okay. Where's that?"

"It's a mystery dungeon down there; it's going to be at the end."

"How many floors was it?"

"I don't remember?" asked Carol. "It's not my job to remember everything for you!"

"Fine," said Chris.

Suddenly, they heard someone approaching.

"Hide," commanded Carol.

The two mostly-humans hid behind rocks flanking the cave's entrance.

They heard a familiar voice. "I made it to Crystal Cave, but Chris and Carol are nowhere to be found."

"I didn't know Grovyle talked to himself," blurted Chris.

"Who's there?" asked Grovyle.

Chris stood up. "Hi, Grovyle!"

"Chris? Is that you? What happened to your ears?"

Carol got up from behind her rock. "Same thing that happened to mine. I only wish I knew what it was. Steven would know."

"You, too? And your hair - it's black!"

"Hey," said Chris, "how many Time Gears did you get?"

"Two."

"I told you!" said Chris in triumph.

Grovyle asked, "Have you read the newspaper?"

"They have a newspaper here?" asked Chris.

"That's interesting," said Carol, "let's see." Grovyle pulled it out of his bag. Chris took it.

"It's in some sort of foreign language," he said.

Carol sighed. "It's upside-down."

"Oh! Yeah, I knew that! I was just - uh - testing you, that's right. Testing..."

"It's not your job to test me. Can you read it?"

Chris flipped it over. "...um..."

"Oh, right," said Caroline, "You never learned this world's written language."

"I would've, but you and Steven already knew it, so I didn't really see the need," said Chris. "Besides, there's always translator programs."

"These aren't Roman characters, Chris."

"What do you mean?"

"They're not, like, 'a, b, c.' You can't type them using a keyboard."

"Not since I memorized all the alt-codes!"

Carol sighed, "You memorized every single keyboard character alt-code but you didn't learn the fucking language?"

"Yeah."

Carol face-palmed. "I'm not sure whether you're stupid or smart anymore."

"What do you mean?"

Grovyle joined the conversation again. "Not that this isn't entertaining, but we need to move, you two. Just tell Chris what the paper says, Carol."

Carol read it. Her eyes got wider and wider as she read through it.

"So," asked Chris, "is the news good?"

"Oh, it's bad. Dusknoir arrived months before us and rallied the entire pokémon world against us," said Carol.

"So is that good or bad?"

"What do you think?"

"Uh, bad?"

"This is where — if you were a dog — I'd give you a treat," said Carol patronizingly.

"Well, I am kind of turning into one, sort of," said Chris. He blinked. "Oh, wait. That was an insult!"

Grovyle chuckled. "Come on you two. Stop flirting and let's get a move on."

"Flirting?" asked both in unison.

Grovyle marched between them. They cast each other a worried glance.

They both shook their heads and mouthed: "No."

"Wait up, Grovyle!" called Chris as they entered Crystal Cave.

* * *

Back at Wigglytuff Guild, Dusknoir was answering questions.

"What can these thieves do, attack-wise?"

"Well," said Dusknoir, "they—"

He was interrupted by someone bursting down the ladder of the Guild. It was a Raichu.

Austin asked hurriedly, "Does anyone here have medical supplies or training?"

"HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE?!" demanded Loudred.

"I've got dying pokémon upstairs!"

Everyone in the Guild went up to the job boards area and saw a Glaceon trying desperately to tend to the wounds of Team Skull. Ally was working on Skuntank.

Wigglytuff, Sunflora, and Chimecho stepped forward.

"What happened?" asked Wigglytuff.

"I don't know," said Ally, "I heard a scream, a loud noise, and then some more screams. Then Austin and I found them like this!"

Sunflora and Chimecho examined Koffing and Zubat.

"Oh my gosh," said Sunflora, "this is incredible!"

"I've never seen anything like this! There is a hole clean through this pokémon's body!" exclaimed Chimecho. "I don't know if he's going to make it!"

Skuntank muttered, "Damn it, they have to."

"Don't talk," said Ally, "you need to rest."

"Fuck that," said Skuntank, "you need to help my team!"

"We're doing everything we can! You have to rest!"

* * *

After an impressive feat of medicine, Team Skull was in stable condition.

Dusknoir said, "I fear that this is what those thieves are capable of."

"How would someone be able to do _that?" _asked Val.

Austin said, "I think that that they were shot — by a gun."

"A what?"

Dusknoir explained, "It's a device that shoots metal slugs at high velocity. They are highly lethal."

"I think I'm gonna be sick," said Peak.

"This is too dangerous," said Dusknoir, "I shouldn't ask all of you to go to Crystal Cave."

"Look," said Austin, "I don't know who you are, but we need to find whoever has this gun and make sure that he can't do _this _again."

"I know, but I don't want anyone getting shot."

Chatot said, "I've been paying attention to the news lately, and I've never heard of anything even close to what this is. Who are these people, really? There aren't supposed to be any humans in this world, anyway."

"Whoa," said Austin, "a _human _did this?"

"Yes, two of the three Time Gear thieves are human," said Dusknoir.

Bidoof said, "You said that you had been tracking them for a long time, but they only showed up a few days ago."

"And," said Val, "Chris said that humans ruled the world. They don't. Where are they from?"

"Where are _you _from?" asked Peak.

"Please, be quiet," said Dusknoir. "I will answer all of your questions. I have been tracking these Time Gear thieves for five years."

"You only came here, like, two months ago!" said Sunflora.

"That's when I traveled to here, from the future."

"What?"

"Who the hell are you, really?"

"I come from the future. I followed the Time Gear thieves here, to this point. They are running away from justice, and I still have no clue as to why they are doing this. I understand that they are willing to do anything to get away, but I think that this is a little too much, even for them."

"..."

"I'm heading to Crystal Cave to stop them. If any of you want to come, then feel free. The Time Gear lies in a lake beneath it," said Dusknoir as he walked out.

Mesprit said, "I don't think he was lying, his emotions felt like he was telling the truth."

"It's the only valid explanation," said Uxie, "for mysterious past, despite how unbelievable it is.

"We're going to follow him, right?" asked Peak.

"He might be crazy," said Chatot, "but that isn't the problem at hand. We need to capture the Time Gear thieves."

"What are we waiting for?" asked Wigglytuff. "Let's go! Austin, Ally, take care of the Guild while we're gone."

"Wait, you're asking us - complete strangers - to look after the base of the world-famous Wigglytuff Guild?"

"Of course," said Wigglytuff as his Guild vacated the building. "Besides, if you fail to do so, then you'll be remembered in infamy for undermining the Wigglytuff Guild and being brutally murdered by its Guildmaster." Wigglytuff smiled. "Have fun, you two."

"Yeah," said Austin fearfully, "you too."

The Guild went off to Crystal Cave after Dusknoir.

"Well, I guess that just leaves, you, me, and an empty Guild building," said Austin.

"Damn it," said Skuntank, "get a room!"

"The inn's too expensive," said Ally.

"Yeah. Being good guys is shockingly unprofitable."

"You're not considering becoming a fugitive again, are you?"

"We could visit the colder parts of the globe."

Ally pondered it for a moment. "Maybe, but the infamy isn't worth it."

"Next vacation, I promise."

"Okay."

"We could visit Articuno."

"I've sent him postcards, you know. Which reminds me, let's send my sister one. We haven't visited her in a while."

"Pelipper delivers that far away?"

Skuntank started banging his head against the floor. "Arceus damn it, just please shut up!"

* * *

"You know," said Chris as he hobbled through Crystal Cave, "I have the feeling that someone I will grow to hate with an intense passion is banging their head against a hard surface. And that makes me happy."

"You are a very strange person," said Carol. "I don't know why we got together in the first place."

"I still remember. You came to me in a dream, and when I woke up, there you were."

"You were tripping balls!"

"And yet you still slept with me."

"It wasn't anything - dramatic. It was cold, and there was only one sleeping bag."

"And note how you never actually searched for a second one," said Chris with a smirk.

Carol scowled. "I'll kill you, okay? I'll fucking_ kill _you."

Chris backed up a bit. He believed her threats and was beginning to regret giving her that gun.

"Quiet back there," said Grovyle. "We're getting close."

"Got it."

The three kept going, and passed by a sleeping Bagon.

Eventually, they made it to their first goal. It was a circular room. In it, three crystalline pillars, each a different color (red, blue, purple), went up about ten feet into the air, and in the middle was a large, blue boulder. Of course, most of the stones in the cave were blue.

"Well, here they are," said Chris, "those pillars you talked about."

"Yeah, now we need to get in," said Carol.

"I thought that there was a hole."

"In the future," said Grovyle, "there will be. Right now, we need to make one."

Grovyle and Carol turned to Chris.

"Do you have any explosives?"

"Yeah, but I don't have a drill to use to bore a hole that I can put them in," he answered. "Can't you think of a more clever way in?"

"Fine," said Carol.

Grovyle said, "Hurry. Dusknoir can't be very far behind."

"And," said Chris, "he's probably brought reinforcements."

"The Sableye?"

"No, Wigglytuff Guild."

Grovyle was silent for a moment. "That isn't good. Carol, think faster."

"Why don't you help?!"

"Any ideas?"

"No, none yet."

Chris had started to hobble in circles around the room.

"You know, these crystals are pretty pretty."

"Are you being stupid again?" asked Carol.

"I'm gonna touch it," he said.

He touched one of the pillars, and it changed color from red to purple.

"Guys!"

"What is it?"

"Look at this!"

Chris started to hit the pillar over and over again, watching it change colors like a rainbow pinwheel.

"That's great, Chris," said Carol, who hadn't even looked up.

"It's changed colours!"

"That's crazy," said Carol, turning to face him.

Chris was still making it change colors.

"Wait, what?"

Chris stopped it on his favorite color: blue.

"See?" he said.

"What did you do?" asked Carol.

"It's touch-sensitive or something." Chris went over the purple pillar. He hit it until it was blue. "Now they're all perfect."

Grovyle said, "Something's happening!"

The crystal pillars were glowing.

"Get back!" yelled Carol.

The light became blinding, and when it subsided, there was a hole in the rock in the center of the room.

Chris peered inside. "I found Crystal Crossing!"

"We noticed," said Carol.

"Good job," said Grovyle.

Chris pumped his fist in triumph.

Carol walked past him. "I'll lead from this point. I think you've spent all your chances to succeed today so far."

"Okay."

Grovyle said, "You take the rear, okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

They went onwards through the passage.

* * *

Wigglytuff was leading his Guild through towards Crystal Cavern.

"We're moving too slowly as a group," said Wigglytuff. "Friends, I must ask you to split up and make a dash for Crystal Cave. We need to protect its Time Gear!"

"Just remember," said Chatot, "you're looking for an underground lake. Following the law of mystery dungeons, it will be at the deepest point, likely after two separate dungeons! Pokémon, move out!"

"Yup! Yup!"

"Hey! You can count on us!"

"LET'S GO!"

Val and Peak ran towards Crystal Cave.

"Let's get those humans," said Peak.

"Yeah!" agreed Val, "Let's save the world!"

"Team Flash Burn is going to be the greatest exploration team of all time!"

* * *

Dusknoir was reaching the end of Crystal Cavern.

"Are you all ready?" he asked.

His troops appeared from the shadows. "Yes, sir!"

"Good. Sableye, you need to stay to the shadows. When I give the order, surprise attack our targets."

"Copy that!" The seven Sableye disappeared into the shadows.

He led the way into Crystal Crossing. As he entered, he commanded, "Pick up the pace. They've already entered this place!"

* * *

The three thieves were approaching Crystal Lake.

"This is it," said Chris, "we might actually do this!"

"Don't let your guard down," said Carol.

Grovyle agreed, "She's right, we need to keep on our toes."

"Got it. Maybe we should be quiet, too. Hope this guard doesn't see us coming."

"Yes, so shut up."

They continued.

Eventually, they made it to Crystal Lake. The underground lake was surrounded by a thin ring of land. In the center was an island connected to the ring by a winding stretch of land. There was an ethereal glow surrounding the island.

"Let's go," said Carol.

The three thieves approached the island.

Chris called, "You go ahead. Leg won't let me go any faster! Take this!" Chris tossed a crowbar at Carol.

"Got it! Try to catch up!" commanded Carol as she slid it into one of the loops of her belt.

She and Grovyle ran up to the island.

"The Gear should be underwater," said Carol.

"I'll dive in. You make sure nobody interferes."

When they approached the island, Carol was blind-sided by a small pokémon.

"Oof!" She fell to the ground, and Grovyle didn't hesitate as he launched a Bullet Seed at her assailant.

Azelf dodged it.

"Leave!" commanded Azelf. "You will not leave this place with the Time Gear!"

"Then we won't leave!" screamed Chris, a dozen meters away.

"Surrender and we will let you live!" said Grovyle.

Azelf closed his eyes and screamed in exertion. "GAAAH!"

The entire lake was turned into crystal.

"Holy shit!"

"What have you done?" asked Grovyle.

"I made sure the Time Gear was safe!"

Chris sighed. "Why don't they ever say, 'Here it is, you got it'?"

"Try to breach the crystal," said Carol, "the Time Gear's in there somewhere.

"Got it!"

Chris hobbled onto the crystal.

Dusknoir flew into the chamber.

"Get them!"

He led his Sableye to the island over the literally Crystal Lake.

"Oh, crap!" exclaimed Chris, "assholes coming from the entrance!"

"I'll handle them! Get into the damn crystal!" called Carol.

Grovyle was busy defeating Azelf. "Give up, damn you!"

"NEVER!"

Chris pulled out his Glock. "Just need to make a pilot hole..."

He shot at the light in the crystal. His bullet made a slight dent. He did it again.

Carol charged her crowbar with a hundred volts of electricity.

Grovyle defeated Azelf and turned to charge at Dusknoir.

"GROVYLE!" yelled Dusknoir.

"DUSKNOIR!" yelled Grovyle.

Chris holstered his pistol, lit the fuse on a stick of dynamite, and shoved it in the new hole.

"Fire in the hole — literally!"

He ran towards Carol, but more importantly away from the explosive.

It blew a sizable hole in the crystal.

Grovyle ran towards the fray.

Carol smashed her crowbar into one of the Sableye. He fell, paralyzed.

Chris examined the meter-deep hole. "It wasn't enough! The crystal's over a meter thick!"

"Fuck!" yelled Caroline as she was overwhelmed by the Sableye.

Grovyle attacked Dusknoir with his Leaf Blade.

"Help, damn it!"

"Right!" Chris moved to pull out his gun, but he was blown back by a powerful Shadow Ball before he could blink.

"You won't be using that!" yelled Dusknoir right before he was hit in the face by Grovyle.

Grovyle was suddenly tackled by three Sableye.

Dusknoir turned around and tied Carol up. The Sableye restraining her went to look for Chris.

Dusknoir pulled her up. "You will not change the future, my girl. Yours ends today."

"Fuck you!"

He thunder-punched her in the gut.

She fainted.

Dusknoir made sure that Grovyle was well-restrained.

He then bashed Grovyle's head into the crystal.

Grovyle fainted.

The Sableye returned to Dusknoir.

"Sir! The other human got away!"

"His leg is broken, how did he manage to do that?!"

"He filled his escape route with fire, sir."

"Did you get the Gears?"

"Yes, the captives each had two."

"Good. We can spin this so that it seems like a complete success. Besides, that injured idiot isn't likely to get far. He'll bleed out within a mile of here."

The Guild pokémon came in at that moment. Because of an extreme coincidence, they all arrived at the same time as one group.

You see, Wigglytuff Guild was very famous for doing just that. Coming into an area all at once whenever dramatically necessary.

But, back to the important things, Wigglytuff asked, "What happened?"

"My associates and I captured two of the Time Gear thieves," responded Dusknoir.

"Weren't there three?" asked Peak.

"Don't worry, he's injured," said Dusknoir. "He won't get far. Right now, we need to send these criminals back to where they came from."

* * *

In the wooded area around Crystal Cave, Chris slid to the ground against a tree trunk. Bark stuck into his back, but he barely noticed.

"Fucking fuck. I should've stayed, damn it! It's all my fault!" Chris smashed his head against the bark. "I'm a coward!"

His right pant leg was quickly becoming a crimson red. He was getting a little light-headed. He touched the blood, and the warm, red liquid stuck to his hand.

"Shit. That's my blood. That's a lot of my blood."

He removed a length of rope from his pack and tied it tightly around the wound.

"Maybe cutting circulation will help." He was becoming irrational and tightened the knot until the pain was overridden by pressure.

He stood up uneasily. "Need to keep moving." He started hobbling through the forest. Each step was getting progressively harder to take. "Need... need..." He made it fifty-five feet before falling to the forest floor.

The last thing he saw was the strange sight of two small, floating, pink figures approaching him.

"Is this...?"

"Yeah, it is..."

Chris lost consciousness just as the ground fell away beneath him.


	10. Capture

Chapter 10: Capture

* * *

When Chris came to, someone pink was on top of him.

"You need to wake up," she said.

"What?"

"Get up!"

Chris propped himself up and looked around. He was in a forest.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"Just outside of Treasure Town," answered the pink, leafy thing.

"Celebi?"

"Yes. You need to hurry. You need to go with your friends."

He thought back to Crystal Lake. "Oh, god. I left them. I need to go back!"

"No! They're in Treasure Town, just down the road. Dusknoir has captured them."

"It's my fault."

"They would've been captured anyway. Right now, you need to get back to where you came from. Dusknoir has opened a portal."

"Why's he done that?"

"To bring Carol and Grovyle back to your time with him. Follow them." Celebi flew up and pointed left. "Treasure Town is that way. Good luck." She then blinked out of existence.

Chris stood up shakily, using a tree to support himself. "Got to save them."

He looked around and found his makeshift crutch. Slotting it under his shoulder, he pulled out a bottle.

"I really shouldn't be drinking this..."

After downing some alcohol, he started towards Treasure Town.

* * *

When Carol came to, she was being dragged.

She tried to ask where she was, but her mouth was taped shut and gagged.

Her muffled grunts attracted attention from her kidnappers, though.

"Lord Dusknoir, she's awake."

"Good. Get her on her feet."

Carol was forced into a standing position by many Sableye.

Dusknoir grabbed her. "Walk, or lose what little time you have left, girl."

She wanted to punch him, but her hands were tied. She imagined all the things she would call him right now.

She reflected, _Our only hope right now is Chris..._

She nearly sobbed. _We're fucking doomed!_

Grovyle was nearby, following a similar thought process. He was restrained and muzzled.

Dusknoir led the pair into a busy town square.

The entirety of Treasure Town had come to watch the thieves get banished.

* * *

Earlier that day, Wigglytuff's Guild was summoned to the town square.

"I wonder why we've been called here," said Val.

Peak mused, "I bet the thieves are gonna get sentenced."

"That's right!" responded a passing Wobbuffet.

"Where'd he come from?" asked Peak.

"We came from Spinda's Cafe," answered a Wynaut, "You should go there sometime."

"Okay," said Val.

Everyone gathered in the town square. Peak and Val were amazed at what they saw.

There was a dark hole. It was in the fabric of time itself. When one looked into it, one looked into infinity.

"That's what we saw the first time I met you," said Peak.

Val responded, "I hope this isn't anything bad..."

Bidoof tried to be helpful and said, "I heard that Dusknoir's going to use that thing to take the Time Gear thieves back to the future. Yup! Yup!"

"What? Will he be coming back?" asked Val.

"Hey! Hey! I think we all know that's a one-way trip," said Corphish.

Peak said, "Damn. I really wanted to learn a few things from Dusknoir."

"Hey!" called out a Pidgey. "Here comes Dusknoir!"

Dusknoir walked (floated) in triumphantly with his minions trailing behind him. They kept Grovyle and Carol restrained.

"There's only two," someone in the crowd whispered.

"Where's the third?"

"Pokémon of Treasure Town!" announced Dusknoir. "We have captured two of the infamous Time Gear thieves!"

There was an enthusiastic, but slightly half-hearted, cheer.

"We have reason to believe that the third thief is injured, and I leave capturing him, for now, up to you. Meanwhile, I intend to deal with these two back in the future, where they belong." Dusknoir turned to the three lake guardians and Ditto, who were also present. "I trust that you four will return the Time Gears to their proper places?"

"You know that is what we intend to do, Dusknoir," said Uxie.

Mesprit said, "Although it is sad to see you go...

"...We will never stop defending the Gears," answered Azelf.

"Ditto."

"Excellent. Take them away."

The Sableye dragged Carol and Grovyle through the Dimensional Hole.

"Now, it's time-"

A voice suddenly yelled, "Objection!"

Everybody turned to face the source.

Chris was pointing his finger at Dusknoir.

He laughed and said, "I've always wanted to do that."

"It's the third thief!"

"Omigosh, somebody, tackle him or something!"

"Bad idea, sunshine. One false move and I blow up the whole fucking town," said Chris. "And don't think I won't do it, I am _really_ drunk!"

Dusknoir was shocked, but kept his composure. "Have you come to turn yourself in?"

"Oh, come on, Big D, you know I would never defect." Chris hobbled through the crowd towards Dusknoir. "I wanna talk for a minute."

"I don't think you're in a position to negotiate right now," said Dusknoir.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Keep talking. Eventually, they'll find out your secret."

Dusknoir said, "How much have you had to drink?"

Chris tried to articulate his hands for a moment, but then nearly dropped his "crutch." He readjusted his posture, then put his hands a foot apart.

"About this many bottles."

"How do you hide that many bottles on a body?"

"I want to say just one word to you. Just one word. Are you listening? Plastics." Chris burst out into laughter. "It's funny because it's backwards, I think."

"You're insane."

"Given." He was a meter away from Dusknoir at this point. "I have just one question, now."

"What is it?" offered Dusknoir.

"Are you bullet-proof?" Chris pulled out his Glock and shot Dusknoir. The shot resonated throughout the square. The crowd collectively screamed.

The bullet went straight through Dusknoir and flew into a totem pole.

"I'm a ghost-type, idiot. I don't need to be."

"Oh," said Chris. "I'm out of ideas, then. Well, I guess I'll see you in a few decades, then." He started to walk away.

"Not so fast!" said Peak as he blocked Chris's path. "You need to go back to the future!"

"Are you a hallucination? Because if you aren't, then I probably shouldn't take advice from you."

"Why did you do it?" asked Val. "How could anyone even consider stealing the Time Gears?"

Chris was silent for a second. "Sometimes the things you do for the better good enter a morally grey area."

"Stealing a Time Gear is pretty dark!" said Peak.

"I'm leaving," insisted the intoxicated teen.

"Stop right there," said Dusknoir as he flew in front of Chris. "You're coming with me, thief."

"Why?"

"I am arresting you."

"What for?"

"Larceny."

"What's that mean?"

"Robbery."

"What of?"

Dusknoir sighed. "The Time Gears."

"Oh, hang on," said Chris. "Now, I never actually stole a Time Gear. I haven't even touched any of them. I just happen to be an associate of the people who did."

"That's what you say, but I am still arresting you."

"Are you?"

Dusknoir lunged at Chris, who barely managed to dodge.

"I'm the master of drunken boxing!" boasted Chris as he tried to counter-attack Dusknoir.

The human's fist passed straight through Dusknoir's torso.

"I am still a ghost-type."

"Oh, well, bollocks."

"You're shockingly simple-minded today."

"Shut up! Everyone knows that you can fix anything if you hit it enough! Preferably with a hammer." Chris looked around. "I should look for one."

"You really are drunk," said Dusknoir as he tried to grab Chris.

Chris launched himself at Dusknoir, who had no choice but to become intangible. "Oh, I'm not going down. That's going to come tomorrow."

"Rrrgh, stop trying to hit me!"

"Your instincts are betraying you, Big D."

Suddenly, Peak tackled Chris.

"What are you doing?!" exclaimed Val and Dusknoir.

"Ending this!" Peak had knocked Chris away from Dusknoir. "Come on!"

He charged again. This time, Val joined in.

"Whoa!" Chris stumbled back towards the portal.

Dusknoir charged at all three. "RRGAH!"

They all tumbled into the portal.

"Waaah!"

* * *

It was dark.

When Carol came to, she found herself surrounded by chains. She could feel her feet on solid ground, but she couldn't move them. She coughed. The air was much too musty.

"Who's there?" called a familiar voice.

"Grovyle! Where are you?"

"I'm tied to something!"

"So am I!"

A third voice piped up. "It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

"Chris?" asked Carol.

"Yeah."

"How the hell did you end up with Grovyle and me?"

"Drunken impulse. God, my head hurts."

"You've been drinking again, haven't you?"

"If you're going to call me a moron, just shut up. I feel bad enough already and you're within kicking distance."

"You wouldn't hit me."

"Not when I have a hangover. Fun me just left the building."

"Not that I want to interrupt this show, but we need to escape," said Grovyle.

"Good luck," said a fourth speaker.

"That's Dusknoir," said Chris. "Where the hell are you?!"

A door opened, and a little light entered the dark room.

Some Sableye were leading two pokémon into the room. The two quadruped pokémon had bags over their heads.

"Let go of me!" exclaimed Peak.

The three time travellers silently watched.

The Shinx and Vulpix were chained to pillars.

The Sableye left.

"Where are we?" asked Val.

"Have a guess," said Chris.

"Who's there?" asked Peak.

Suddenly, the lights came on.

The five were revealed to be tied to five romanesque pillars with thick chains. The pillars were in an line, and from left to right, Val, Peak, Grovyle, Carol, and Chris were tied to them.

"It's you! What are you doing here?" asked Peak.

"Um, we've been captured, clearly," said Chris.

"Where are we?" repeated Val.

"Your future," said Grovyle. "This is where we will die."

"I can understand why you're here, then. But why are we here too?" asked Val.

Carol said, "Dusknoir doesn't care about collateral damage, but he does care about tying up loose ends."

"Yeah..." said Peak.

_"You're _loose ends," said Grovyle.

"He's going to cut you up into little pieces," said Chris. "But, he'll probably do me or Grovyle first. He really likes to hurt me, and Grovyle and Dusknoir go way back."

"There's no way Dusknoir would do this to us!" insisted Peak.

"He will. Just watch," said Carol.

At that point, Dusknoir walked out of the shadows. Five Sableye entered into the room shortly afterwards.

"Oh! Dusknoir!" said Val.

Peak called, "Hey! You gotta get us out of here!"

Dusknoir ignored them and walked up to Grovyle.

"I finally caught you, old friend," said Dusknoir.

Grovyle retorted, "Our 'friendship' was tainted from the start, you traitorous bastard!"

"In the beginning, we wanted the same thing, but what you're doing is going too far."

"But now you work for our enemy!"

"No. Dialga is _your _enemy. He hasn't been an adversary of mine for six years."

"You betrayed the group. You killed our mentor!"

Dusknoir turned away. "I did what had to be done." He began to leave. The Sableye stayed behind. As he reached the door, he commanded, "Dispose of them. Try to keep it clean."

"What?!"

"You can't do that!"

The door banged shut.

The Sableye grinned maniacly.

"Hey! That's _my_ facial expression!" said Chris.

"So, Boss," said one of the Sableye, "how are we gonna kill them?"

The leader thought for a moment. "We can't attack them with Fury Swipes - you know how that ended up - but what else can we do?"

As the Sableye debated execution techniques, the five prisoners were forming an uneasy alliance.

"Look," said Chris, "I don't like you, and you probably don't like me all that much either, but we need to work together to get out of this."

Peak said, "Screw you!"

Carol said, "Yeah, since when are you the one who came up with ideas?"

"I work well in a pinch," said Chris.

"No offense, but you're the _least_ capable planner of the group," said Grovyle.

Val said, "Besides, there's no way we can escape. These chains are un-breakable."

"Yeah, but our wardens are stupider than I am," said Chris, "and that's saying something."

Carol said, "Give it up. There's no way we can convince them to unchain us."

"No! I'm not going to give up. There has to be a way out of here!"

Chris started to struggle against the chains.

"He has gone completely crazy this time, hasn't he?" asked Grovyle.

"Yup," agreed Carol.

Val sobbed, "We're going to die!"

"Damn it, I don't want to die!" exclaimed Peak.

Chris said, "My shoes feel loose."

"That's impossible. You were complaining about them being too tight yesterday," said Carol.

"Well, now they're loose," he said. Chris tried to swing his leg, but he was tied too tightly. "Sod it."

"Are you still drunk?" asked Carol.

"My leg feels like it's on fire!"

"No," said Grovyle, "I think he's high."

"He's what?" asked Val.

"On drugs," said Carol.

"It's hard to breathe," said Chris.

"I can breathe just fine," said Peak.

Val and Groyvle agreed with Peak.

"I can't fucking breathe!" insisted Chris.

"Oh, are they pumping gas into the room?" asked Carol sarcastically.

"Ooh," said the lead Sableye, "we could gas you to death. Thanks!"

"But Boss," said his second-hand-'mon, "we don't have lethal gas."

"I heard that one of the scouts found some gas grenades from one of the human wars," said the Boss. "We can use those."

"Yeah," said one of the Sableye as they went for the door. "I helped move them to the armory. They called them Nova 6 or something."

They left the room and forgot to close the door.

"Oh, those guys are _bastards!" _said Chris. "I don't care if that was an accident, the was a dickish move. So fucking close!"

He struggled in his chains a bit more, and suddenly, there was a little give.

"Wait a minute, I think..." He wriggled some more, and eventually, the chains seemed to be getting looser. "Ha ha! It's getting loose!"

Grovyle was deadpan. "No way. You're hallucinating."

"Nope! Watch!"

He kept struggling, and Carol said, "He's gone off the deep end..."

Despite their negative predictions, however...

_Chink! Clatter!_

The chains eventually fell away from the struggling teen.

"Haha! Fuck yeah!"

"What the fuck?" asked Carol in shock.

"How-" asked Grovyle.

Val and Peak were speechless.

Chris stepped shakily away from his pillar, turned around, and gave a bow. "Ladies and gentlemon, I've escaped." When he bowed, something showed up behind him.

"What do you have behind your back?" asked Peak.

"Eh?" he turned around to try to get a look at it, but it danced out of his vision. "Where is it?"

Everyone's jaws dropped when they saw it swing around. A blue, furry tail was sticking out above his jeans.

Chris spun around. "What is it? Is there something on my back?"

"Um..." Grovyle said apprehensively.

"You have a tail," said Carol.

Chris turned to face Carol. "Oh come off it. That's ridiculous." He chuckled. "That's like if-" He stopped when he felt it wag. "What the hell?"

He grabbed for it, but it dodged out of his grasp. "Come back here!" He chased it, leading himself in a circle.

"If we all make it out of here alive," whispered Carol, "we can never let him forget this."

"Agreed," said Grovyle.

Val was on the verge of terrified laughter, and Peak was astonished.

"Aha!" He finally grabbed it between his hands. "Caught you you son of a-" His eyes went wide. "Hell's bells. I have a tail. _And I've been chasing it!"_

"Oh, don't stop," said Carol. "This is hilarious."

"I have a fucking tail!" said Chris.

"You're turning into a pokémon. It was going to happen eventually. In fact, that's probably why you were able to slip out of your chains," said Grovyle. "You've shrunk." Chris had indeed lost a few inches of height.

"No way," said Peak. "He's turning into a pokémon?"

"That's impossible!" said Val.

"Carol! Maybe you could break out, too!" said Chris.

"I tried," said Carol, "I'm just not turning into a pokémon right now. Besides, I don't want to get smaller. It'll be fun to look down on you. Just try to undo these chains."

Chris sighed. He walked around behind the pillars. "It's no good; there are locks on them."

"Well, remove the locks," said Grovyle.

"How?"

"Find something!" said Carol.

Val said, "I see something in the corner. It might be useful."

"Whoa," said Peak, "you're actually helping them escape?"

"Maybe they'll free us too?"

"Depending on the generosity of outlaws is crazy!"

"But it's all you have right now," said Grovyle. "Trust us."

"What's in the corner?" asked Chris.

"I don't know, go check!" said Carol.

"Fine. Calm down," said Chris as he hobbled over to the object in the corner.

"What is it?" asked Grovyle.

"A knife!" called Chris. "Give me a second." He went behind the pillars.

"What are you doing?" asked Carol.

_Rrrip._

Chris went back in front of the pillars. "That's better."

"What did you do?" asked Grovyle.

Chris turned around. "Pretty clever, huh?"

He had torn a hole in the back of his jeans and slotted his new tail through it.

"That's disgusting," said Peak.

"It's not the _worst _idea..." said Val.

Grovyle said, "Just get us out of here. You can pick a lock, can't you?"

"Oh, that's right!" said Chris. He sat down and pulled off his left shoe.

"I'm not even going to ask," said Carol.

He pulled a lockpick out of it.

"Right." He put his shoe back on and went back behind the pillars. "This shouldn't take too long."

He stuck the lockpick into the keyhole. The knife went in so that the lock would turn. Then there was some aggravated jiggling as Chris struggled to get the pins in the correct positions. He was having trouble because his hands were trembling from adrenaline left in his system from his earlier panic attack.

Six pins and a tense two minutes later, Grovyle's chains fell away.

"Ah. It's good to be unchained."

"Alright, undo mine next," said Carol.

Peak said to Val, "They're going to leave without us, just watch."

"I hope not," said Val.

When Carol's chains fell to her feet, she said, "Great! Let's go."

"But what about them?" asked Chris.

"We can leave them, can't we?" asked Carol.

Grovyle said, "No. Free them, Chris."

"Okay."

Chris moved to work on Peak's lock.

His chains fell away in forty-five seconds.

"Oh, hell yes. I still don't trust you guys, but I owe you one."

"Okay, last one," said Chris.

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard from the hall.

Carol said, "Crap."

Grovyle commanded, "Hide behind the open door. It opens inward, so we might be able to take them by surprise."

"What about me?" asked Val in fear.

"I'll handle you," said Chris as he stuck the pick in the lock. "Just give me a minute."

"Oh..."

"Don't worry, Val," said Peak. "I'll beat those guys easily!"

"I hope so," said Carol as she got in position.

Chris moved the lockpick.

_Click! Click!_

"Sweet, two in one go!" exclaimed Chris.

"Shh!" commanded Grovyle.

_Click!_

The footsteps got louder.

_Click!_

"Hey, Boss," said one of the Sableye, "somebody left the door open."

_Click!_

"Hurry!" whispered Val.

"I'm almost done," said Chris.

"Shut up!" hissed Carol.

"Don't worry. They're chained up, so they ain't going nowhere," answered the Boss.

_Click! Clatter!_

"You're free!" said Chris. "Hide!"

Val hid behind a pillar. She looked over at Chris, who was hiding behind the next pillar over.

"Thanks!" she whispered.

Chris smiled. "Don't mention it."

The Sableye appeared at the door.

"Oh, crap. Where'd they go?!"

The Boss didn't even enter the room. "Crap! Come on, boys. Search the building. They can't have gotten too far."

The Sableye ran away from the room.

Everyone peeked out from their hiding spots after the footsteps faded away.

"That was too easy," commented Grovyle with slight disbelief.

Val and Peak said, "Let's get out of here."

"We could arm ourselves first, but only if we have time," said Carol.

"Follow me," said Grovyle. "I'll lead us out of here."

Grovyle led the group out of the room.

"Where are we heading?" asked Chris.

"You'll see," said Grovyle. "Just stay quiet."

They ventured further down a long corridor.


	11. Live Wire

Chapter 11: Live Wire

* * *

_Left._

_Right._

_Straightaway._

"Do you have any idea where you're going?" asked Val.

"I have an inkling," answered Grovyle.

_Right._

_Up a flight of stairs._

"Have we reached the armoury yet?" asked Chris.

"Have we entered a room full of weapons recently?" asked Carol with clear irritation in her voice.

"No...?"

"Then no, we haven't." She muttered under her breath, "Moron."

"I heard that!"

Val said, "Please don't fight. You'll attract attention."

"But she said I was stupid!"

"Quiet back there," said Grovyle.

Everyone quieted down.

Peak moved closer to Val and whispered, "We need to get away from those guys. They're trouble."

"But they're helping us," said Val.

"How long until they turn on us, huh? You can't trust thieves."

"...you're right. But how are we going to get out of here without them?"

"Well, we-"

"Here it is," said Grovyle.

Peak asked, "The way out?"

"No, the armory."

"Sweet!" said Chris as he went up to the door. He grabbed the doorknob and tugged. "It's locked."

Carol looked at the door. "There's an electronic lock."

Next to the door was a keycard-operated lock. Carol looked at it closely.

"How are we going to get in now? We don't have a keycard," said Chris.

"You don't say," said Carol. "Maybe we could overload the lock with an electric attack."

Val looked over at Peak. "Want to try shocking it?"

"Of course! I'm going to break that thing - no problem!" Peak began to spark.

"Wait-"

"Thunderbolt!"

He let loose a bolt of electricity at the lock, but it instead went towards the nearest conductor: Carol.

She felt the electricity pulsing through her. This was more than she had been able to muster with her semi-accidental Thunder Wave and Spark attacks, and she had no idea what to do with it. She punched the lock out of shock, and reflexively willed the attack's power into the machine.

It exploded in a cloud of dark smoke.

Everyone started coughing.

"What the fuck?!" exclaimed Carol.

"Oops," said Peak. "My bad."

"That was loud," observed Val.

Carol slapped Chris in the face without even looking.

"Ow! Why'd you hit _me?"_

"Force of habit."

"Just wait for the smoke to clear," said Grovyle in-between coughs. "When the smoke clears, we'll have to be quick or we will be found."

As the smoke began to clear, Chris said, "Haha. I can see again."

"Shit," muttered Carol.

"What is it?" asked Chris.

"Give me the knife, Chris."

"Why?"

The smoke cleared completely. A jagged, black tail extended behind Carol.

"I grew a tail."

"Yours looks funny," said Chris.

Carol frowned imperceptively and countered, "You chased yours."

Chris cheeks turned a deep red. "Sh-shut up!"

"Just give me the fucking knife."

Chris gave her the knife.

"Thank you." She pocketed it.

Chris looked around and tapped his fingers together. "...well?"

"I'm not cutting a hole in my pants while you're looking, pervert."

"Don't call me that!"

Grovyle yelled, "Stop fighting! Every two minutes, you two start fighting, and I can't take it anymore! Just shut up!" After a moment, he added, "Before I make you."

"...Can we just enter this armory already?" asked Peak. "I want to get out of here."

"Yeah..."

Chris pulled on the door. Nothing happened. "It's not-"

Carol pushed the door, and it swung in. "It's a push door."

"Oh, um, I knew that! I definitely knew that..."

She sighed. "Be quick."

* * *

Chris went into the armory and looked around. He was like a kid in a candy store.

"Haha. Look at all of this."

There were SMGs, shotguns, pistols, and even a sniper rifle. But ammo was scarce.

"Hmm..." Chris stuck his hand in his pocket. He pulled out the contents. "Three shotgun shells and some lint." He thought for a second. "The lint's important, I should keep that."

"Hurry," commanded Grovyle.

"Right." Chris searched throughout the room.

Val asked, "Shouldn't we help him?"

"No," said Carol. "He's in one of his moods. Never interrupt that monster when he's in a mood."

"What is he looking for?"

"A gun."

"A what?" asked Peak.

"A killing device," said Carol with clear distaste.

Val was dismayed. "Is that all you humans do? Design killing machines?"

Peak scoffed. "I'm hating your kind more and more by the minute."

Chris laughed maniacally from behind a corner.

"What is it?" asked Grovyle.

Chris put on an Eastern European accent. "I am Heavy Weapons Guy-" He carried out a huge, multi-barreled minigun. "-and _this _is my weapon."

"Chris, now is not the time. Get something practical," commanded Carol.

"Fine." He put it down on a table and searched for another weapon.

A few seconds later, he came out holding a double-barreled lupara. "Mr. Angelo? Mr. Salieri sends his regards." He pretended to shoot it at an invisible man. "Boom! Credits roll."

_"Chris."_

"I know, I know." He stuck the short gun into a pouch stitched onto his jeans. "It's a perfect fit, though."

He opened a chest and pulled out a small pistol with an attached flashlight.

"What's that?" asked Carol.

"It's a, um, Five-seven," said Chris as he popped out the magazine, which seemed too long for the gun.

"Is that any good?"

"Yeah. It fires armour piercing rounds. Extended magazine." He did what he considered to be the ultimate honor for any item he found, and stowed it in his inside jacket pocket. "Found a few shells for the lupara, too."

"Are you done yet?" asked Carol.

"Yeah," said Chris. "I also found this for you." Chris placed a snub-nosed revolver on the table. "Six shots."

"Thanks." Carol was about to grab it, but Grovyle stopped her.

"No. Don't."

"Why?"

"Your electricity might set off the gunpowder," said Grovyle.

"Oh, that's right," said Carol. "Keep it."

"Okay." Chris hid the snub-nose up his sleeve. "Let's go."

Peak sighed. "Finally."

They went back into the hallway.

* * *

"Quickly," said Grovyle, "this way."

The five ran down the hallway until Chris said, "Wait."

Carol asked, "What is it _this_ time?"

"I think someone's up ahead," said Chris.

"Why?" inquired Grovyle.

"Aura, maybe."

"Whatever," said Peak. "We have to go there anyway. Let's just get out of here."

"Besides," said Carol, "you have a gun, don't you?"

"Yeah, but it's not very fun to use it on mooks," said Chris.

Val said, "We could maybe attack them by surprise."

"That could work," said Grovyle. "Let's go."

Chris asked, "So, if we see guards?"

"I'm gonna electrocute them," said Peak.

They all ran further down the corridor.

Eventually, they came up to a door at the end.

"We need to go through here," said Grovyle.

"What's this?" asked Chris.

"I have no clue. Move."

* * *

Grovyle opened the door, revealing a hallway. All the way down the hall, there were cells on each side. The doors had tiny windows at a grown man's (or a larger pokémon's) eye height.

Chris got on his toes and peeked through the closest window.

"Hell's bells! There's someone inside this one!"

He pointed the flashlight inside. "Hey! Are you alive in there?"

A young man called back, "For God's sake, I'm trying to sleep here! Can't you patrols just leave me alone?"

"Sorry," said Chris.

"Wait a minute," said Carol. "I know that voice."

"Carol?" asked the teen. He stood up from the cold stone floor, bending backwards and letting loose a few worrying _"Pop!"_s from the vertebrae in his spine. Sleeping on a stone floor for a week tends to have that effect on you. He rolled his neck to get some circulation going and walked up to the window in the door of his cell. "Is that you?"

She went up to the cell. "Steven."

Steven looked into her face. Her blue eyes and the soul behind them proved it was Carol, but everything else-

"What happened to you, Carol?"

Even in the dark, her changes were obvious. Her once-bright blonde hair was now black as night. Her ears had changed shape and color to become round and mostly black and migrated to the top of her head. There were also two barely visible circular patches of yellow fur on her cheeks. Very soon, she'd be able to launch more than a mere Spark.

Chris got at her side and announced, "We're turning into pokémon!"

His hair and ears were now blue and furry. By now, he had already begun to develop a black, furry mask that ended halfway from the rear of his head and at the tip of his nose. Where the beginnings of facial hair had once been forming, short blue fur was growing on his face.

And that's not even counting their tails, or their changed sizes. Both of the time-travelling humans had shrunken to their pre-pubescent sizes; the pokémon they were becoming were quite small compared to even a human child.

Steven let his jaw drop in shock. "What? How?"

Carol sighed. "We don't have a clue."

"It's awesome!" exclaimed Chris.

The twins responded at the same time: "No it isn't!"

"This could be dangerous," continued Steven. "We have to study this. But first, could you free me?"

"Of course!" Chris pushed on the door. "It's not-"

Carol looked around and pulled a lever on the wall. The door slid into the wall and Chris fell forward into Steven.

"Oof. Sorry."

Steven walked out and hugged Carol. He had to bend down a little.

"It's good to see you again," said Carol.

Steven observed, "You've gotten smaller."

"How long were we gone?"

"A week."

"How did you get in this place?"

"After you left, Dusknoir traced my signal and arrested me."

Chris said, "I thought you went through seven proxies."

"Unfortunately, they traced me through a hole in my security system."

"Steam?"

"Yeah, they traced my account while I was playing _Counter Strike._ The lag was just too damn high to use proxies!"

"Crap. Were you playing on Office or Dust?"

"Chris," said Carol, "shut up. Let's just get out of here."

* * *

As they left the hallway, Steven observed, "You have two more pokémon with you."

"Oh, yeah," said Chris, "they're from the past. Prisoners of Dusknoir."

"Hmm," said Steven.

"Do we have any safehouses we can go to?"

"No. We'll worry about that after we escape, though."

Grovyle said, "Get ready, we're nearing an exit."

After a while, Carol said, "Grovyle says we're nearing the exit."

"I know that," said Chris, "I heard him."

"I can't understand him," Steven quickly explained.

"Oh..."

"So, you can understand pokémon now?" asked Steven.

"Yes," said Carol, "it's convenient."

"Fascinating!"

Val said, "I didn't know humans couldn't understand pokémon."

"It just proves that humans are monsters," said Peak.

"Shut up," said Chris. "I'm not a monster."

"You're quickly turning into one, though," said Steven, not understanding the first two thirds.

"Quiet!" commanded Grovyle.

"Shh!" relayed Carol.

The group of six approached the end of the hallway.

They heard voices behind the door.

Grovyle whispered, "How many are there?"

Chris closed his eyes. He saw five barely distinguishable blobs of light (each a pretty colour) in front of him. He turned around to see two dark red blobs behind a dark barrier.

"Two, at least," whispered Chris. "I think they're behind a wall."

Grovyle and Chris argued whether it was the door or the wall.

"What's he doing?" asked Steven.

Carol said, "He thinks he can use aura."

Steven was excited at the prospect. "Can he?"

"Maybe. I can shoot lightning, so anything's possible."

"You can use attacks?"

"Yeah. Also, don't tell Chris that I trusted his powers. It would get to his head."

"It would also mean a lot to him coming from you."

"He doesn't care what I think," said Carol with certainty.

Steven sighed, "You might be surprised."

"I doubt it."

Grovyle interrupted, "Let's go. We can catch up later."

Chris readied his shotgun. "Can we go loud?"

Grovyle quickly grabbed the barrels and pushed it down. "In your dreams. We'll stay quiet and not get caught."

"But _if _we're spotted?" asked Chris eagerly.

Grovyle sighed. "If we are spotted, then you can use the gun. But it's not going to happen."

"Yay," said Chris.

Grovyle opened the door slowly.

* * *

It was an exterior door, and two Sableye were standing guard. They were facing away from the door and staring into the endless darkness.

Grovyle crept up behind them and banged their heads together. They both fainted.

Chris asked, "Can we take one of them prisoner?"

"What would be the point?" asked Grovyle.

"Let's just find a car, guys," said Steven.

Carol said, "That's a good idea."

"Move," commanded Grovyle.

"Follow him," relayed Carol.

Peak asked, "What the hell is a car?"

"You'll see," said Chris.

"Are we outside?" asked Val.

"Yes."

"Where are the stars? It's nighttime, isn't it?"

"They've been gone for a while. Also, it isn't night. The time is..." Chris pulled out his satellite phone. "...high noon."

"What?" asked Peak. "It's so dark!"

"We'll explain all that later," said Grovyle. "Chris, shut that damn thing. It's too bright."

"Got it."

Carol and Steven, who had gone off in search of a vehicle, stage-whispered, "We found something!"

Everyone met up at a black SUV parked behind a corner of the building they had just left.

"That'll probably work," said Chris.

"Pick the lock, Chris," said Steven.

"Right." He picked the lock quickly. "Open sesame." The inside of the car lit up as the driver door opened. Chris hit a button and unlocked all the doors.

"Who's driving?" asked Chris.

"I am," said Carol.

Chris and Steven said, "No way."

Carol pushed past both of them and sat in the driver's seat. She shocked the starter solenoid through the ignition and started the car. "Shut up and get in the back."

Steven quickly called, "Shotgun!"

"Oh, come on," said Chris. "I never get shotgun."

"Damn straight," said Steven as he got in the passenger seat. "Get in the back."

Grovyle told the two other pokémon, "Get in."

"What is that thing?" asked Peak.

"It's a car, a human-designed vehicle. Just get in."

They all piled into the back of the SUV.

Chris leaned in between the front two seats. "So, where are we going?"

"Away," said Carol as she put the car into gear.

She floored it, and Chris fell into the second row of seats.

"Oh, shit," said Chris as got next to Peak, Val, and Grovyle on the rear bench. "I suggest you find something to hold onto."

Carol made a hard left, pushing all of the pokémon on top of Chris.

"Wah!"

"Ow!"

"Argh!"

"Oof! Gah, fuck! Get off of me!"

The SUV gained speed as it barreled towards the front gate of Dusknoir's compound.

At the gate, a Sableye standing guard saw them coming.

"What the fuck is that?"

It smashed through the gate, raising all the alarms.

"Get Dusknoir! Something's going on!"

* * *

By the time Dusknoir could even react to the situation, the fugitives were traveling north on I-95 at seventy miles an hour.

The general atmosphere was cheerful with a sprinkling of mild confusion.

None of them noticed the black car following them.


End file.
